Campaign to curb under-age drinking launched

Campaign called 'You Decide'

PROBLEMS of underage drinking have forced the South African Breweries (SAB), the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to launch an integrated strategy to solve this problem in a campaign called You Decide.

You Decide was launched in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, by the department of education headed by MEC Senzo Mchunu.

The National Liquor Act 59 of 2003 and various provincial pieces of legislation around liquor trading oblige manufacturers and distributors to sponsor at least one awareness campaign against alcohol abuse a year.

To this end, SAB has spent R100- million on research and developing a strategy against alcohol abuse aimed at all segments of consumers.

You Decide targets drinking by kids under the age of 18, and there are suggestions that the campaign should also include 21-year-olds.

The National Youth Development Agency Act 58 of 2008 behooves the body to "initiate programmes directed at poverty alleviation, urban and rural development and the combating of crime, substance abuse and social decay amongst youth".

Asked whether this latest strategy against alcohol abuse was motivated by recent noises against alcohol advertising, Robyn Chalmers, head of communications at SAB, produced a long list of SAB's involvement with awareness campaigns.

Among others, Chalmers pointed at the Responsible Alcohol Use, of which SAB is a founder member. Responsible Alcohol Use co-ordinates and directs activities designed to prevent and reduce alcohol abuse.

Chalmers states that these activities include the development and monitoring of the industry's advertising and promotions code of practice, which has been incorporated into the Advertising Standards Authority's code of practice.

NYDA chairman Lungisa Andile refused to comment, saying he had no time to waste with the media.