SAB sets Smart Drinking Squad on underage drinking
SOUTH African Breweries (SAB) has established a Smart Drinking Squad who will take to the streets of South Africa and educate retailers and community members on more responsible consumption behaviour, and in turn help to reduce harm caused by the misuse of alcohol.
The Smart Drinking Squad is made up of 100 previously unemployed individuals from local communities in which SAB operates.
The campaign is being run nationally and targets licensed tavern owners, their patrons and local communities.
The Smart Drinking Squad will address the harmful use of alcohol through three campaigns and programmes.
Training and application of the eight responsible-trading guidelines.
Harm-reduction education and awareness campaigns.
Activation of the 18+ Be the Mentor programme.
The squad will visit retailers, educating them on the eight responsible trading principles, which are:
Trading responsibly in a way that will not cause harm to customers and the community.
Not serving alcohol to pregnant women.
Not serving alcohol to people under the age of 18 and not allowing underage people onto the premises.
Not allowing customers who have had too much to drink to drive.
Not serving alcohol to intoxicated customers.
Not allowing illegal and dangerous substances such as drugs and weapons on the premises.
Not allowing the business to cause a disturbance to the surrounding area.
Complying with licence conditions, including displaying a liquor licence on the premises, complying with trading hours and renewing the licence annually.
The aim is to train 10 000 retailers in responsible trading over the next year.
On harm reduction and awareness campaigns, SAB has partnered with local NGOs and relevant organisations to identify specific areas of intervention required within communities.
SAB's 18+ Be the Mentor programme is a call-to-action for adults to become role models in the fight against underage drinking.
The Smart Drinking Squad will encourage mentorship of those under 18 years of age, with a specific focus on ensuring they don't engage in underage alcohol consumption. This programme was relaunched in June this year with the aim of getting more adults to sign up to become mentors.
“In a country where misuse of alcohol is prevalent, the need for interventions aimed at addressing this habit is pressing,” says Nirishi Trikamjee, the corporate affairs director of SAB and AB InBev.
“SAB is investing in science-based programmes to advance positive social behaviour change and address harm reduction head-on.
“At SAB we believe that smart drinking choices affect everyone, every day. We are committed to helping foster a global culture of smart drinking to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
“Our Smart Drinking Squad is a group of change agents and champions of responsible drinking.”
The Smart Drinking Squad is one of several initiatives SAB has developed as part of the organisation's investment in initiatives that shift social norms and behaviours to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
For its global smart drinking goals, AB InBev has committed to investing $1 billion (R12.5bn) across the world in dedicated social marketing campaigns and related programmes by 2025 to promote smart drinking and foster a culture globally to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.
“SAB recognises that to be effective in tackling the harmful use of alcohol, a holistic approach is necessary, one that touches customers and consumers of its products.
“The Smart Drinking Squad will work to incorporate all our initiatives focused on fighting harm to make a tangible impact on South African communities,” Trikamjee adds. Azure Janneker SA Breweries