As South Africans face increasingly difficult mental health issues, many turn to alcohol as a coping method.
The image of enormous lines at bottle stores when the Covid-19 alcohol ban was lifted highlighted the strong link between stress and alcohol usage.
However, AWARE.org, a harm reduction organisation, underlines that alcohol is not the answer. Instead, it should be consumed responsibly and in appropriate situations.
Mokebe Thulo, the chief executive of AWARE.org, believes that Mental Health Awareness Month in October is a critical annual event in the ongoing fight to assist South Africans understand that alcohol is intended for moments of conviviality, not as a crutch for mental health difficulties.
“Reaching for the bottle to cope with life’s realities can create a vicious cycle that deepens the very problems people are trying to escape from. Alcohol is not a solution to mental health struggles; in fact, it can often make them worse,” said Thulo.
Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe joined the chorus and urged all South Africans not to consume or sell alcohol during the month of October.
South Africa also has one of the world’s highest rates of alcohol consumption, with per capita consumption increasing over the last decade.
The government also stated that alcohol usage was a factor in around half of all non-natural deaths. It is involved in 75% of homicide cases, 60% of car accidents, and 24% of vehicle fatalities and injuries.
Tolashe stated that alcohol was the third-leading cause of mortality and disability, following unsafe sex/sexually transmitted infections and interpersonal violence, all of which are influenced by alcohol intake because alcohol impacts sexual and aggressive behaviour.
“Alcohol use has been recognised as a major contributor to the global burden of disease, with an even greater detrimental effect in low- and middle-income countries and people living in poverty,” said Tolashe.
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