Booze, drug abuse costs SA R11,9bn

This was said at the launch of the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency in South Africa (ICPA in SA).

Speakers expressed concern about the growing number of school-children (under the age of 13) experimenting with drugs and alcohol, and who became hooked.

ICPA SA president Boyce Mkhize said the prevailing use and abuse of alcohol in South Africa was a contributor to the road carnage. 

The scourge of alcohol and substance abuse has reportedly cost the country's economy R11,9-billion. Our initiative will help rebuild society. We seek to prevent undue exposure to drugs and alcohol, particularly among the youth. 

We want to adopt an approach that influences proper regulation and advocacy to avoid promoting easy access to alcohol and drugs.

He urged South Africans to adopt more healthy lifestyles. 

Alcohol contributes to many social ills such as family violence and crime. There will be no freedom to celebrate if we are sentencing ourselves to death through alcohol and substance abuse. We aim to free our country from all substances that create fatal dependency patterns.

The ICPA is an NGO of the United Nations as well as the World Health Organisation. It was established in 1952 and operates in 70 countries. It seeks to reveal the impact of dependencies on economic, political, social and religious life and to present effective preventative measures.