Society must deal with alcoholism

The Citizen’s headline, “Booze bans do work” and the editorial of 15 March refers. Indeed the research shows up evils of booze. Alcohol continues to wreak havoc in the South African society.

South Africans can help themselves out of this scourge by advancing the values of empathy, socioeconomic justice, equity and fairness.

Citizens have, in the main, been left alone to deal with the ravaging consequences of alcohol. Government can help by regulating the alcohol industries for the well-being of society.

They can also do public education and awareness, rehabilitation and motivational programmes and campaigns specifically funded from the sin taxes. The state must ban advertising of alcohol irrespective of the drinking age limit of 18.

Retailers must also act responsibly and change their tricks of the trade and not mix sales as well as advertising with other food products.

Corporates and institutions can have great cost savings by stopping to provide alcoholic drinks at their workshops, seminars and other functions.

The mass media must play a more significant role, as you have now done in your newspaper.

When society begins to correctly deal with the problem of alcoholism and drug addiction, we will start to observe a decline in the levels of crime, rape, murder and robberies, car accidents, road rage, domestic violence, child and spouse abuse, chronic, mental and other illnesses.

Since the Muslim month of Ramadan is fast approaching, I invite my fellow South Africans to join us in a sobering exercise of self-control by abstaining from any intake of alcohol.

Try it, the power lies within each one of us.