Survey Overview

Face-to-face assisted by a tablet.

Wave	Survey dates	Survey sample
1	Apr – Sept 2014	General population: 2046 Youth (16-17): 869

Alcohol Environment Protocol

An AEP has been completed (time period Aug 2013 – Jan 2014)

Alcohol Policy Currently In Place

• No stand-alone national alcohol policy.
• Excise tax on beer, wine and spirits. The benchmark total tax (excise + VAT (14%)) as a % of retail sales price to be reached by 2014 is 33% for wine, 35% for malt beer, and 48% for spirits. Flavoured alcoholic beverages are taxed at the same level as malt beer
• Legal blood alcohol concentration maximum while driving a vehicle is 0.05% for ordinary drivers and 0.02% for professional/commercial drivers
• Legal minimum purchase age of 18
• No regulation restricting marketing in print media, on radio, television; no regulation on sponsorship
• Advertising codes are self-regulated and often ineffectual as the regulating body is managed by the marketing communication industry and even includes the main liquor industry social responsibility organisation
• Mandatory warning labels required on alcohol containers (one of 7 health messages)
• Differing policies regarding retail sale of alcohol for on- and off-premise consumption in the different provinces. Given the large number of unlicensed outlets in informal areas, alcohol is freely available in large parts of the country 24/7
• No sale of alcohol in plastic containers that are not self-supporting and that are non-re-sealable. They may not have a capacity in excess of 5 litres

South Africa Contact Info

• Charles Parry, South African Medical Research Council, charles.parry@mrc.ac.za

Partner Institutions

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