No way public will allow ban on booze sales to return

The public won’t let government ban alcohol again without a fight, according to an expert.

This as others warn that a spike in alcohol consumption under a Level 3 lockdown could push the healthcare system into crisis and could fast-track the spread of Covid-19.

Dr Ina Gouws, senior governance and political transformation lecturer at the University of Free State, said the impact of alcohol abuse on the healthcare system was likely to be significant, especially as the pandemic was set to reach its peak in South Africa over the next three months.

But as public sentiment on government’s handling of the lockdown dwindles, support for a second ban or even a dialling back to lockdown Level 4 would be met with push-back from the public.

“The main thing, in my opinion, when it comes to this ban in the first place was the personal freedom aspect. It is that people’s personal freedoms were being infringed upon. That will definitely come up once again if government starts to think about reinstating the ban,” said Dr Gouws.

According to Professor Safura Abdool-Karim, legal researcher at the Wits University School of Public Health, it was concerning that in just a few days, the unbanning of alcohol sales had already begun to show signs of destruction as cases of alcohol-related illnesses, trauma and deaths were returning to emergency rooms across the country.

What was also important to note, said Karim, was the high incidence of trauma admissions as a result of violence, much of which was alcohol-induced. These included stabbings, shootings, and violence against women and children.

Altered behaviour induced by alcohol consumption also greatly increased the risk of disease spread as a result of poor decisions and impaired judgment.

According to a 2014 study published in the South African Medical Journal, alcohol-related deaths accounted for 6.1% of the country’s annual mortality rate, 7.4% of premature mortality, 6.4% of 6,2% of total disability in the country.

Research conducted at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town showed that over 30% of all trauma admissions were alcohol-related. Maurice Smithers, director of the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance in South Africa (Saapa SA), noted the resurgence of alcohol-related trauma cases putting a toll on the public health system.

Hospitals such as Groote Schuur and Chris Hani Baragwanath in Soweto reportedly experienced up to 100% increase in trauma admissions from the first day of Level 3 lockdown which coincided with the lifting of the ban on alcohol. Smithers said anecdotal suggestions of a resurgence of car accidents and fatalities over the past week.

“Already in Groote Schuur on Monday there were two patients in the Intensive Care Unit. One being a patient who was knocked down, either because he was drunk or the driver was, and another patient who was a drunk driver.”

He expected the trend to continue because of the initial shock of the unbanning, before stabilising by mid-July. Saapa-SA was expected to share the results of its ongoing research of the impact of the alcohol ban and subsequent unbanning as it related to Covid-19 and going forward.

Smithers’ biggest concern over the next few months was that prior to the lockdown, domestic violence was highly correlated with alcohol consumption.

“It’s a difficult one because there is no doubt that before the lockdown and the ban on alcohol, statistics showed around 60% of domestic violence cases were alcohol-related. There will be research on whether it was made worse or better by the ban of alcohol and freedom of movement.”

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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