Tag Archive for: Drinking

Andrew Stegmann
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COVID-19: Cape Town to Crack Down on Alcohol Non-Compliance During Festive Season

  • City of Cape Cape Town says that not having the ability to have a good time New Year’s Eve is the least of their issues this festive season because the Covid-19 state of affairs might change into a lot dire.
  • When the curfew begins, folks can be required to be off the streets.
  • The City can be visiting at the least three alcohol retailers a day in every suburb, to lower the spate of alcohol-related incidents.

The City of Cape Cape Town can be intently eyeing liquor retailers this festive season, as alcohol-related trauma incidents might place an pointless burden on town’s hospitals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the City’s Safety and Security and Community Services and Health Directorates held a briefing addressing the City’s 2020/21 festive season preparedness plan, discussing new implementations that will be taken to curb the unfold of the coronavirus.

Cape Town mayco member JP Smith stated operational plans can be put in place for large days reminiscent of New Year’s Eve.

“The South African Police Services, along with the City services, will put an operational plan in place for each of these big days,” stated Smith.

“When the curfew starts, we will require people not to be on the streets”, he added.

Smith stated that in the mean time, the least of their issues was that folks wouldn’t be allowed to have a good time New Year’s Eve as earlier than.

In addition to the brand new plan, the City can be visiting at the least three alcohol retailers a day in every suburb to monitor compliance, in a bid to lower the spate of alcohol-related incidents.

Law enforcement visited 69 retailers in October and 85 in November, checking for compliance.

This would additionally be certain that hospitals weren’t clogged up by alcohol-related trauma.

Beaches, swimming swimming pools

Addressing the accessibility of leisure parks and seashores, councillor Zahid Badroodien stated the general public would have to work intently with the recreation and parks division to ensure that all of the laws have been adhered to.

“The City has about 370km of coastline and a number of beaches and tidal pools along the length of the City,” he stated.

He stated that in any respect these varied places, facility workers, lifeguards and identikits can be out there over the festive season.

Badroodien additionally emphasised that seaside goers ought to attempt to come dressed for the seaside to minimise interplay within the altering rooms.

With the Covid-19 laws, the swimming pools have been solely in a position to take about 50% of the standard quantity of patrons.

“If you have any symptoms or know of anyone who has had Covid-19 within a short space of time, or if you are waiting for test results, please don’t come to any of our public facilities,” urged Badroodien.

The City was anticipated to have over 600 lifeguards that will be positioned; 340 of whom can be situated seasonally on the seashores, whereas 300 can be based mostly at swimming swimming pools.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Possible Changes to South African Drinking and Cape Town Smoking Legislation

Cape Town’s buildings could soon be 100% smoke free

The City of Cape Town continues its campaign to address the country’s tobacco use and are working with the Bloomberg Partnership for Healthy Cities to promote a 100% smoke-free environment for all. This works in conjunction with the new National Tobacco Bill that may soon be instated, which aims to  effectively outlaw smoking in any public spaces.

The bill also includes amendments around stricter rules on where one is allowed to smoke; the inclusion of e-cigarettes under tobacco products; enforcement of plain packaging; the banning of tobacco products advertising at tills; and eliminating cigarette vending machines.

“The City of Cape Town was selected for Phase II of the Bloomberg Partnership for Healthy Cities. For this phase the City has elected to focus on Tobacco use and second hand smoke as the new National Tobacco Bill will be promulgated soon. The City of Cape Town wants to set an example for all residents in promoting a smoke free lifestyle and workplace,” said the Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien in a statement.

The Partnership for Healthy Cities is a prestigious global network of cities committed to saving lives by preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies. It is a global network of 70 cities where mayors have committed to prevent NCDs – including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and chronic lung disease through proven interventions. The second phase of the Partnership launched in 2019.

City Health has integrated the Partnership for Healthy Cities opportunity into the larger Healthy Lifestyle Programme. In Phase I, City Health focused on reducing sugary drink consumption among the urban population.

“In Phase II, we are using similar tactics to create a smoke-free city. According to the South Africa Demographic and Health Survey, 25% of women and 42,9% of men in the Western Cape smoke daily. The goal is to create a smoke-free city through stakeholder engagement, education campaigns and review of internal City policy. The City of Cape Town will aim for as many of its buildings as possible to be compliant with the new workplace smoking policy post intervention,” said Councillor Badroodien.

Cigarette smoking is linked to the onset of all four of the most common non-communicable diseases: cancer, heart and lung disease, and diabetes. In addition to the high costs of treating diseases caused by its use, tobacco often kills people at the peak of their wage-earning capacity. This deprives families of their breadwinners, robs nations of a healthy and productive workforce, and contributes to the cycle of poverty that exists in many countries. It threatens global development.

City Health, together with multiple internal and external partners, has developed a three pronged approach to address tobacco use:

1. Policy Changes:
City Health and Human Resources, together with the policy unit, have updated the City’s smoking in the workplace policy. This new document is a framework which aims to discourage smoking, as well as protect non-smokers, while environmental Health will also play a role in monitoring compliance to this framework.

2. Increased enforcement of Tobacco Legislation:
Environmental Health, and other City departments, have ramped up enforcement of tobacco legislation within the City. Gaps in law enforcement were identified and roles and responsibilities are being defined. During the festive season activations were held at road blocks and beaches to educate the citizens on the harms of tobacco use.

3. Media Campaign:
City Health is creating a tobacco awareness campaign, which is both internally and externally focused. The aims of the campaign are to advertise that the City is going smoke free and to educate the community about the harms of second hand smoke.

‘Recent events have forced many people to stub out the habit, but many more are struggling to give up cigarettes as evidenced by the exorbitant prices they were willing to pay for cigarettes. We realise it’s not easy, but the City is doing as much as it can to assist employees and residents to stop smoking,’ added Councillor Badroodien.

Cape Town, South Africa

Liquor Amendment Bill could change SA legal drinking age

To increase efforts in better managing the country’s alcohol-related issues, the Democratic Alliance is pushing for government to pass the Liquor Amendment Bill which will change South Africa’s drinking laws significantly.

This particular bill has been stuck in cabinet for a number of years and many, including DA’s Dean Macpherson, feel the bill has the potential to better regulate alcohol in South Africa and reduce the damage caused by excessive consumption.

According to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), a serious multi-structural plan is needed to pull South Africa out of its alcohol problems. Citing data from 2015, the council showed that up to 282 adults die as a result of alcohol consumption per day in South Africa, between 27 000 and 103 000 people a year.

The SAMRC continued that a concerning trend of binge drinking has become notable in South Africa
“Almost 6 out of 10 adolescent and adult drinkers engage in heavy binge drinking: 70.8% of male and 33,7% of female drinkers, higher than both the regional and global averages,” their report stated.
The country is also ranked as one of the worst in the world for drunk driving. SA’s road traffic fatality rate is more than 33 per 100,000 population, this is almost double the global average. Research also shows that drunk driving accounts for 27.1% of fatal crashes in SA each year.

If instated, the bill will:

-Push the legal drinking age to 21

-Introduce a new 100-metre radius trading limitation around educational and religious institutions

-Ban the advertisement of alcohol on social and small media

-Introduce a new liability clause of booze-sellers

Mbalula says no one should be getting behind the wheel of a car with any alcohol in their system as the Road Traffic Amendment Bill was introduced in parliament in June 2020, which effectively introduced a 0% alcohol limit for all motorists.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

South African Shoppers Stock Up On Liquor As Sales Resume

South African shoppers filled trolleys with cases of beer and cider and bottles of whiskey and wine on Monday as the government eased the coronavirus lockdown to allow the sale of alcohol to resume after a nine-week ban.

South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption per capita in the world, banned the sale of liquor in late March to ease hospital workloads and prevent a rise in domestic violence related to alcohol abuse during lockdown.

Under looser restrictions, alcohol will be sold for home consumption from Mondays to Thursdays, a welcome relief for an industry on its knees due to the ban.

“There is a significant amount of profit lost, we were losing turnover every day,” Jimmy Constantinou, who has been managing a liquor store in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township for six years, told Reuters inside the busy store.

“It’s obviously good that we’re open again but in terms of business it’s going to take a while to get there.”

An estimated 117,600 jobs have been lost in the industry, with 13-percent of the craft beer sector in the process of shutting, while the wine industry was in severe distress, said Rico Basson, chief executive of Vinpro, a wine industry body.

A few kilometres from the township, more than 100 people snaked around the parking lot of Makro Liquor, owned by Massmart, with bottle store owners loading cases of beer and cider onto pick-up trunks.

Software developer Teboho Mofokeng waited in the queue for more than two hours for his six bottles of whiskey, saying his alcohol stock ran out during lockdown.

“I’ve been without liquor for some time now,” he said. “I’m over-excited and relieved.”

Retailers like Pick n Pay and Shoprite’s Checkers supermarket chain, had allowed customers to place pre-orders online for delivery from Monday.

Some retailers placed limits on purchases, with Checkers limiting online orders to 120 litres per order.

Online alcohol stores and delivery apps were dealing with high volumes of orders after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to further reopen the economy.

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].