I would be fascinated if your correspondent from the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (Saapa) could provide substantiation for the “statistics” and claims contained in the letter "Tougher Taxation Needed to Tackle Alcohol Abuse" (March 8). The much recycled statement that “annual spending on alcohol-related harm is more than R247bn” is palpably improbable: this figure is 20% of the total tax revenue, more than is spent on basic education and enough to lift Eskom out of its death spiral. It makes the accuracy of the studies liberally quoted by Aadielah Maker Diedericks questionable at best. The last World Health Organisation study available on the internet shows SA in 30th position (out of 195) in terms of total alcohol per capita consumption. Since there are 50 Muslim-majority countries included in this figure, and many with a high but not majority Muslim percentage, we can hardly be described as world leaders in the field. We are clearly a country with serious alcohol-relat...
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