HEALTH Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday defended the government’s controversial plans to ban alcohol advertising, saying that alcohol was a key risk factor in the growing burden of non-communicable diseases facing South Africa.Preventing non-communicable diseases would cost the country far less than treating patients affected by these conditions, he told MPs in the National Assembly."I’m not trying to motivate for a higher budget for health, but I’m mobilising for something that we know works — prevention of disease and promotion of health," he said."If you prevent (disease) you won’t need a lot of money. So when we say we want … regulation to curb this or that and people keep calling us the nanny state, we want you as leaders to understand."The major risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease were poor diet, smoking, lack of physical activity, and the use of alcohol, he said.The government has introduced regulations on the salt and fa...
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