SA’s illegal drug abuse is double world average

Drug consumption in South Africa is twice the global average and the highest in Africa, according to substance treatment statistics.

“The average age of individuals starting to experiment with substances in SA is 12 years, and this age is decreasing,” warned Adrie Vermeulen, national coordinator of the SA Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca).

Many are also unaware of the difficulties faced by substance users when first entering treatment and the long-term fight they face after initial treatment.

“The annual Sanca Kick Your Habit campaign aims to show how difficult it is to just stop a habit and make people think about how much more difficult it is to break that habit once it has become an addiction,” explained Vermeulen.

The campaign is timed to support International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The theme was “Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives”.

Sanca encourages everyone in South Africa to kick just one of their habits for a week and to share their experience on social media. Whether this habit is caffeine, tobacco, chocolate, or even shopping, is entirely up to the individual’s discretion.

To ensure that the complex issue of addition prevention and treatment receives the appropriate consideration from policy makers, regulators, healthcare and other relevant professionals, Sanca is hosting the Addiction Conference 2021 from 21-23 July.

This inaugural platform will kick-start the biggest coordinated effort in Africa to create effective and long-lasting solutions to address the public health crisis of addiction.

Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu will be a keynote speaker at the conference. –