The SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has put forward six proposals to limit the availability of alcohol – and reduce hospital trauma cases – once the booze ban is lifted, writes Nomahlubi Jordaan for TimesLive.
SAMRC’s Professor Charles Parry unpacked the basket of measures during an interview on Radio 702 on 3 August. Parry and SAMRC President Professor Glenda Gray urged government to review the alcohol ban, during an interview with Business Day TV last Friday.
A fresh ban on the sale of alcohol was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 12 July, in addition to a night curfew, to reduce alcohol-related trauma cases at hospitals and free up beds to treat possible COVID-19 patients.
Gauteng premier David Makhura last week reported a 57% occupation rate with 5,500 patients using the 9,576 public hospital beds available in the province. Western Cape premier Alan Winde reported a 71% occupancy rate of hospital beds in Cape Town.
With some data indicating a slowing of infections, the SAMRC says plans should be made now to ensure there is not a “free-for-all” scenario when the ban is eventually lifted.
According to TimesLive, the proposals to prevent this include:
- Reducing the number of days, for example from four to three a week, that alcohol can be sold.
- Limiting container sizes, for example beer to 330ml and 500ml containers and wine to 750ml bottles instead of 5l containers. This would increase the price of alcohol.
- Limiting the quantity of alcohol sold per person to prevent people from buying in bulk and then reselling. This would also entail a limit on the amount of alcohol that could legally be transported per vehicle.
- “There’s a proposal to bring down the maximum blood alcohol concentration level for drivers to .02 [per 100ml of blood]. Frankly, I think .02 is more defendable because it allows you to have some medication with alcohol in it … That would require the police and traffic police to do more roadblocks,” said Parry.
- Doing more tests for alcohol after vehicle collisions.
- Making alcohol-related trauma a “notifiable condition” through clinical assessments or biological markers obtained at hospitals to get a more complete picture of the role played by alcohol in trauma cases.
According to TimesLive, Gray said during her interview with Business Day TV: “We have seen the affect that the curfew and alcohol ban have [had] … so I would recommend now that we do have hospital space … we need to respond appropriately so we can manage both lives and livelihoods.”
WATCH: On the Covid-19 frontline – The alcohol ban
On BusinessDay TV on 31 July, Michael Avery talked about the science behind the ban on alcohol sales amid the pandemic, and the economic damage it has caused, to Professor Glenda Gray – president of the SA Medical Research Council, professor of paediatrics at Wits and member of the COVID-19 ministerial advisory committee; and Professor Charles Parry, director of the alcohol, tobacco and other drug research unit at the SAMRC.
Scientists say it's time to think about lifting the booze ban to save jobs
SA’s alcohol industry has welcomed a call by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) for the government to start planning to lift the ban on alcohol sales, reported TimesLive on 3 August 2020.
SAMRC president Dr Glenda Gray and Professor Charles Parry, director of the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs research unit at the council, told Michael Avery of BusinessDay TV that the ban, and the night time curfew, were “interim” measures to free up space in hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
“We need to be nimble. We have seen the impact that the curfew and alcohol ban have [had] … So I would recommend now that we do have hospital space … we need to respond appropriately so we can manage both lives and livelihoods,” said Gray in the interview last Friday.
Gauteng premier David Makhura last week reported a 57% occupation rate with 5,500 patients using the 9,576 public hospital beds available in the province. Western Cape premier Alan Winde reported a 71% occupancy rate of hospital beds in Cape Town.
TimesLive continues: Parry was asked during the interview if the outright ban on alcohol sales was not ill-advised, given the lower bed occupancy rates, its impact on jobs and excise tax collection.
“With hindsight I don’t think so. We certainly needed those beds at the time,” he said. But he added: “I think we now need to start looking at planning for lifting the temporary ban on alcohol sales … so that we can perhaps start planning for them, in a few weeks' time maybe even talk about lifting the ban on alcohol sales.”
Alcohol industry response
The alcohol industry said in a statement that more than 100,000 of nearly a million jobs supported by the industry value chain were lost in the first phase of the ban at lockdown levels 5 and 4. The industry includes the National Liquor Traders Council, South African Liquor Brand owners Association (SALBA), the Beer Association of SA (Basa), Vinpro, the National Liquor Traders Council, and manufacturers.
The industry said more than R19bn in revenue and R3.4bn in excise tax to government was lost during the first phase of the ban of alcohol sales.
Distell CEO Richard Rushton said in a statement on Monday: “We have to ask whether an outright ban on alcohol sales can be justified when the damage outweighs the benefits and there are smarter ways to achieve the same objectives …
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-08-03-scientists-offer-six-proposals-to-limit-boozing-after-alcohol-ban-is-lifted/"]Scientists offer six proposals to limit boozing after alcohol ban is lifted[/link]
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2020-07-31-watch-on-the-covid-19-frontline-the-alcohol-ban/"]WATCH: On the Covid-19 frontline — the alcohol ban[/link]
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-08-03-scientists-say-its-time-to-think-about-lifting-the-booze-ban-to-save-jobs/"]Scientists say it's time to think about lifting the booze ban to save jobs[/link]