Western Cape wants pricier booze countrywide

21 September 2016 - 12:57 By Bekezela Phakathi
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A crowd of friends enjoying beers at a bar.
A crowd of friends enjoying beers at a bar.
Image: Thinkstock

The provincial government’s green paper on reducing alcohol-related harm was gazetted this week‚ and has been made available for public comment.

Some of the interventions include lobbying national government to increase the price of alcohol through increasing excise tax and/or introducing minimum unit pricing‚ tightening definitions and regulation of ales and beer‚ and implementing a tracking system of liquor products.

The provincial government is also proposing reducing easy access to alcohol‚ especially to underage drinkers‚ by limiting trading hours in some instances or ensuring ID verification at purchase points‚ and a focus on the entire value chain — including responsible consumption‚ responsible production‚ distribution and trade.

The provincial government says this would be achieved through clamping down on illegal distribution channels and outlets.

The national government has also been paying close attention to the problem of alcohol abuse and has put forward measures to curb it‚ including the controversial plan to increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21.

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has been pushing for more stringent measures‚ such as banning alcohol advertising.

The provincial government believes making alcohol unaffordable to young people in particular will help in reducing alcohol abuse‚ reports Business Day - http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/health/2016/09/21/higher-prices-across-sa-are-a-key-part-of-western-capes-alcohol-policy.

- TMG Digital/BDlive

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