South Africans spent about R1bn a day on alcohol in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve, according to the Rethink Your Drink campaign.
Rethink Your Drink is an alcohol harm-reduction campaign by the DG Murray Trust, aimed at challenging norms, policies and industry practices that promote and normalise heavy drinking. Kashifa Ancer, the manager of the campaign, said South Africans spend about R150bn a year on alcohol.
She said the figure represents total consumer spending on beer, wine, spirits and ready-to-drink (pre-mixed alcoholic beverages) across retail, taverns, bars and restaurants.
“In the days leading up to New Year’s Eve, this spending is reported to nearly triple, pushing daily alcohol sales to well over R1bn a day,” said Ancer.
“When alcohol sales surge like this, it shows how our liquor system is set up. The rules allow alcohol to be sold and promoted most aggressively at the times when communities and services are already under pressure.”
Ancer said “while festive trading boosts profits, the knock-on costs fall on families and public services, from hospitals and policing to child protection”.
“Rethink Your Drink is calling for stronger pricing and trading rules so that predictable harm is no longer treated as inevitable every festive season.”
On the R150bn figure, Ancer cited market researcher Trade Intelligence. She said alcohol spending averages about R414m per day.
“When that daily figure is annualised, it equates to about R150bn per year in consumer spending on alcohol. These figures are drawn from market intelligence and retail category analysis used in public reporting to illustrate the scale of alcohol purchasing in South Africa, particularly during peak periods.”
Ancer said weekly alcohol spending nearly triples between Christmas and New Year, from December 25 to January 1, rather than over the whole festive season. Early last year, deputy social development minister Ganief Hendricks told parliament about R7.7bn was spent on alcohol during this period. Ancer said this highlighted the scale of the spike compared with average daily sales.
“The Trade Intelligence estimates are strongest for formal and licensed sales channels. Informal and illegal sales, including unlicensed shebeens and counterfeit products, are not comprehensively captured in retail datasets. A Euromonitor study commissioned by the alcohol industry has found that illicit alcohol represents a significant share of consumption in South Africa, with estimates suggesting nearly one in five drinks consumed is illicit and that the illicit market is worth tens of billions of rand annually.”
Healthcare feels the impact most immediately, particularly emergency and trauma services.
“The South African Medical Association has warned that increased alcohol consumption during the festive season places severe strain on hospitals, especially emergency units and trauma centres.
“Practically, this shows up as higher trauma caseloads, overcrowding, longer waiting times and pressure on already limited staff and resources. This pressure is closely followed by road safety and policing, with increased alcohol-related crashes, injuries, violence and public disorder.”
Rethink Your Drink called for stronger pricing and trading rules.
“Our recommendations are aligned with the World Health Organisation’s evidence-based Best Buys and its Safer strategies to reduce alcohol-related harm. Priority measures include increasing the price of alcohol through excise tax reform and a minimum price per unit of pure alcohol, known as minimum unit pricing.”
The organisation also called for restricting alcohol by reducing the number of outlets, limiting trading hours and banning oversized containers.
“The campaign doesn’t oppose alcohol consumption entirely. It targets the conditions that make excessive drinking widespread, especially among young people and in under-resourced communities.
“December and New Year function as a recurring stress test for South Africa’s liquor system. When alcohol is so cheap, more available and more aggressively promoted at peak moments, the resulting pressure on hospitals, roads and policing is not unexpected. It is predictable. Our view is that this predictability makes the case for prevention-focused policy that reduces harm upstream, rather than relying mainly on crisis response after damage has already occurred,” Ancer said.
TimesLIVE
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