According to a recent study, the tangible financial cost of harmful alcohol use per year is over R39 billion and the intangible cost is over R245 billion. Tangible financial costs of harmful alcohol use include injuries, hospital related costs, crime response and traffic accidents.
According to a recent study, the tangible financial cost of harmful alcohol use per year is over R39 billion and the intangible cost is over R245 billion. Tangible financial costs of harmful alcohol use include injuries, hospital related costs, crime response and traffic accidents.
This is double the amount the SA government has put aside for all health concerns including HIV treatment. We spoke to health researcher Thokozile Mtsolongo about the issue.
"The tangible costs is what happens after the consumption of alcohol, not only to the person that has consumed the alcohol, but what that person may end up doing to others or to themselves," explains Mtsolongo, who is a health researcher at the Public Service Accountablility Monitor (PSAM). "If you consume too much alcohol, and you are driving drunk, if you hit someone, the likelihood is that you will either kill the person, you may also yourself get killed or you cause permanent damage to the person, which is likely to be a cost upon the state to provide a long term service to that person."
The use of alcohol in South Africa, is a way of life for many people, regardless of their socio-economic background. Alcohol abuse has many negative economic, social and health consequences. In terms of tangible costs, alcohol usage has many effects, which affect most South Africans.
"The main effect that we see here at FAMSA is domestic violence. [Alcohol abuse] also affects families in terms of poverty and coping, because a lot of money is used on alcohol that does not go into looking after the family," explains social worker and director of Families South Africa (FAMSA) Grahamstown, Anne Harris.
It is estimated that around 70% of domestic violence is associated with alcohol abuse. According to South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics, alcohol is the third leading cause of death and disability in South Africa, and it is estimated that up to 30% of general hospital admissions in South Africa are directly or indirectly related to alcohol use.
SAPS Crime statistics further show that over 74 547 illegal liquor premises were closed down by the police last year.
Arrive Alive provincial spokesperson Tshepo Machaea had this to say in connection with road accidents which occur in the Eastern Cape: "normally it is over weekends where the drunk and driving becomes a rife where you will find out that on the average you can say 30 people are being arrested in the province for drunken driving".
According to Machaea, "it is mostly the youth between the ages of 18 and 45, those are people mostly vulnerable when it comes to use of alcohol on our roads, whether it be pedestrians, passengers or drivers. Those are people that are normally there and those are the ones that are normally killed".
Alcohol consumption in South Africa results in significant diseases and death. It increases violence, crime and accidents, has major consequences for individuals, families and communities and impacts negatively on the economy.
