Alcohol was intended to refresh its consumers and bring a great, fun and enjoyable experience to them. With this great motive brought forward tothe people, alcohol can be justified as a good beverage to be consumed. However, to hint at the possible dangers of alcohol consumption its motto is “Drink responsibly. Not for sale to persons under the age of 18.”
Responsibility is something that normally comes with age in many people, and it is seldom that an underage alcohol drinker can be responsible consuming alcohol. “My friends and I always get access to alcohol, despite our age, and when we drunk we do anything and everything, we lose fear” said a 16 year old male Chiawelo resident.
South Africa is considered as one of the highest binge drinking countries in Africa, and underage drinking contributes great to this phenomenon with surveys showing that 50% of South African teenagers drink alcohol. Binge drinking is the consumption of more than necessary amount of alcohol in a short timeframe.
“On a normal business day, my customers drink 6 beers on average and on month ends and weekends it is around 9 and above”said a tavern owner from Chiawelo. The average South African drinker happens to be a binger. “We make good money from selling alcohol, but the problem is the effects it has on some people who lack responsibility as they do not know when to stop and we do not really have the power to stop them, so I cannot sell to a kid what an older person fails to control,” added the tavern owner.
The amount of bottle stores is on the rise which could serve to prove the surplus of alcohol at the exposure of underage people and their accelerating urge to consume it. With money being the greatest gain in a business, some bottle store owners cannot help but sell to underage drinkers. “Some of the old people do not have money, and my mom always gives me a good amount of money, so despite my age, the tavern will sell me alcohol because I benefit it more than thelegibledrinkers,”said another 16 year old Chiawelo resident.
In South Africa, underage drinking is a common act. Some parents allow their children to consume alcohol despite them being underage, and as well the art of peer pressure. Another great contributing matter is the lack of supervision in taverns. “I know very well that many taverns sell alcohol to underage people, and it is sad because the community never comes together and try to fight against such a predicament,” said the tavern owner.
The great consumption of alcohol by South Africans however is also due to reasons fabricated and justified by the people. Some people use alcohol as a substitute for anti-depressants, or rather even as a confidence booster, which is information that does not come with the package, but there is more than this, and underage drinking is one of them.
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