Alcohol comsupmtion has been taken as a form of lifestyle by the society and this has taken a negative impact on the youth of South Africa. The hamful usage of alcohol is a worldwide problem that results in millions of deaths, and hundreds of thousands of young lives lost. South Africa has one of the highest per capita drinking in the world, about 5.9 million men and 1.63 million women engage in risk drinking http://www.alcohol.co.za/statistics.htm. As a result 60% of pedestrians are involved in road accidents and 48% of truama petients that are being admmited in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on satudays are foud to be intoxicated http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/alcohol_abuse%20in%20SA.htm.
Alcohol industries are making billions from the comsuption of alcohol every year and the numbers of new consumers increase each year. Now the problem seems to be that the compaigns that warn people against the dangers of alcohol are not having an impact on what they are meant to do. In 2009 stats S.A found that 18-22 years olds were the heaviest drinkers in the country http://www.tnt.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=51. In 2010 when South Africa hosted the world cup this was when alcohol industries saw a rise in the consupmtion of alcohol and young people where engaging in binge drinking. It is esstimated that alcohol abuse costs companies R20 billon in lost productivity http://www.breathalysers.co.za/content.aspx?page=Public+Awareness.
Other things that alcohol impacts on are the risk of people having uprotected sex, fetal alcohol syndrom and a violent behaviour. It is only now that the goverment is trying to stop alcohol advertisements form airing, but is that going to have an effect seeing that the alcohol industry generates large amounts of money towards the economy. It sponsors all of the countries national teams and it also gives out busaries to a lot of young people. The task is going to a tough one seeing that this behaviour was detected in a later stage when this kind of drinking has taken over a lot of peoples lives. Are we going to be able to overcome this so-called "nice life" and grow up? Are We Ever Going To Stop Alcohol Abuse???
One thing I know is we are attracted to things that are bad for us n our health, I mean take smoking for instant, we knw wat it could do to us, we see it even in the box but yet we still smoking, so they can just stop shem the more they try to stop us frm drinking the more we will drink,(by us I mean the youth)
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