{"id":126822,"date":"2016-07-08T11:18:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T09:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/126822\/are-south-africans-at-risk-of-having-an-alcohol-problem\/"},"modified":"2016-07-08T15:54:26","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T13:54:26","slug":"are-south-africans-at-risk-of-having-an-alcohol-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2016\/07\/08\/are-south-africans-at-risk-of-having-an-alcohol-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Are South Africans at risk of having an \u2018alcohol problem\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0a statement<\/a>\u00a0commemorating\u00a0international day against drug abuse<\/a>\u00a0on 26 June, the South African presidency said: \u201cIndications are that between 7.5% and 31% of South Africans have an alcohol problem or are at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Africa Check contacted the presidential spokesman to ask for the source of the figures but did not get a response to emails or calls.<\/p>

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Data source listed as 1998 study<\/strong><\/p>\n

That exact line appears in South Africa\u2019s\u00a0Drug Master Plan\u00a0for 2006-2011<\/a>, though. The plan, updated every five years by the\u00a0department of social development<\/a>, lays out the country\u2019s strategy to prevent and reduce substance abuse and the social and economic impact associated with it.<\/p>

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The plan stated that risky drinking on weekdays involved an average of 7.5% of the population and was said to be more prevalent at weekends \u201cwith an average of 31.5% of those aged between 25 and 54 at greatest risk\u201d.<\/p>\n

The drug master plan listed South Africa\u2019s\u00a01998 Demographic and Health Survey<\/a>\u00a0as its source but the figures do not line up. For example,\u00a0the alcohol data in the survey showed<\/a>\u00a0that the majority of people did not report drinking alcohol, with 44.6% of men and 16.9% of women drinking alcohol at the time of the survey.<\/p>\n

Risky drinking was defined as drinking five or more standard drinks per day (men) or three and more drinks per day (women). Of the people who used alcohol, 6.9% of men and 8.7% of women drank at risky levels during the week, with a third of the people\u00a0who reported drinking alcohol<\/em>\u00a0doing so over weekends.<\/p>\n

Alcohol dependence at 2.6% over lifetime<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug unit at the Medical Research Council, Professor\u00a0Charles Parry<\/a>, referred us to the last\u00a0nationally representative study<\/a>\u00a0on the prevalence of common mental disorders in South Africa.<\/p>\n

As we explained in a previous report<\/a>, the study also identified substance abuse and disorders using the criteria of two international systems, the\u00a0DSM-IV<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0ICD-10<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The data\u00a0for alcohol disorders<\/a>\u00a0showed that 1.2% of study participants suffered from alcohol dependence and 4.5% from alcohol abuse over a 12-month period. The data for lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence was 2.6% and alcohol abuse 11.4%.<\/p>\n

Conclusion: The claim is incorrect<\/strong><\/p>\n

The presidency\u2019s statement that indications are that \u201cbetween 7.5% and 31% of South Africans have an alcohol problem or are at risk\u201d of having one is incorrect.<\/p>\n

The most recent national study put the figure at 1.2% (for alcohol dependence) and 4.5% (for alcohol abuse) over a 12-month period. The lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence was 2.6% and that of alcohol abuse 11.4%.<\/p>\n

Researched by\u00a0Vinayak Bhardwaj\u00a0and supplied by\u00a0Africa Check<\/a>. Follow them on\u00a0Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> for more groundbreaking stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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