SA has the highest alcohol consumption rate in Africa and one of the highest in the world. Considering only 38% of the population drinks alcohol, these stats are impressive — or depressing. A staggering 17l of pure alcohol is consumed on average by every South African drinker annually. To tackle this problem, and others, the government aims to raise the legal drinking age to 21 and has issued the National Liquor Amendment Bill for public comment. SA also has the highest rate of alcohol-related road deaths, with up to 58% of them attributed to drinking and driving or drinking and walking. The World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety for 2015 says road traffic fatalities are the most common cause of death of people aged 15-29 years. The South African Medical Journal says alcoholism among the youth is a particular concern, "given that at least half of SA’s population are categorised as young people under 35 years". Surveys have shown that there is a tendency to m...
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