More kids drinking at younger age

UNDERAGE drinking is spiking and will be even worse over the festive season, according to Aware.org.

The organisation said underage drinking was reaching alarming levels, with children as young as 15 drinking.

Aware.org CEO Ingrid Louw said: “South African children are drinking from a young age, and our country has the inevitable ranking of being the third-largest consumers of alcohol in Africa.

“The liquor industry is seriously concerned by the statistics which show that our young people are in fact drinking from as young as 15 years, which is not the legal age for drinking alcohol.”

Western Cape Liquor Traders Organisation spokesperson Lefa Mapilo said there was a need for a collective effort between parents and communities to curb underage drinking.

“People always shift the blame to tavern owners, forgetting that parents are partly to blame for this behaviour.

“Parents need to take responsibility because bottle stores don’t force minors to purchase alcohol. They always find access to alcohol, but we always champion responsible trading,” he said.

Mapilo said with the government’s failure to regulate the industry, numerous illegal taverns cropped up during the lockdown.

Western Cape Liquor Authority spokesperson Nwabisa Mpalala said its compliance and enforcement unit would be conducting inspections throughout the province during the festive season, as part of its mandate to regulate the liquor industry.