A RECENT study commissioned by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB) has established that 64% of people who consume alcohol in the province do so to escape from reality. The remainder while 36% percent do so for socializing.
The study shows that Cacadu district is the drinking capital of the province with 34% of drinkers found there, while the Alfred Nzo is the least likely place to drink with 14% of the population considered active drinkers.
ECLB chief executive Gonza Mati said the 2012 study was conducted to identify problematic drinking trends that his organisation wanted to curb.
The study states that most people drink to forget about their problems, loneliness, to get drunk and boredom.
Angelique Fraser of the South African National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (Sanca) in East London said work related stress was a major contributor to drinking.
“A lot of people are stressed in their line of profession and they resort to drinking to escape from the stress. Once this happens it can affect every area of an individual’s life whether personally or socially,” Fraser said.
“The only way to solve the problem is counseling. The individual must first admit that there is a problem and be open about it. We provide in-patient treatment for our patients three weeks and offer counseling to the families. of the patient,” she said.
The majority of men interviewed by the Saturday Dispatch yesterday said they drank alcohol to “cool off” instead of drinking to escape from problems.
Nomkoko Mhlangabezi, 21, in Quigney said: “The purpose of for my drinking is to enjoy and ease off stress of for my school work especially on weekends with my friends. I don’t think someone can escape their problems by simply hitting the bottle. I have seen people who drink to escape their problems and as a result they end up crying when they are drunk.”
Anele Ncumani, 50, of Scenery Park said he drinks to be happy. “It’s not like I need the alcohol for happiness but you know how it is when you are a sports person, when your team is not scoring you need to keep yourself busy with beer,” he said Ncumani.
He said he sympathized with people who drank to escape their problems but emphasized that alcohol was not the way out.
The ECLB said it welcomed the news that people in the Eastern Cape consumed less alcohol than those in some of the other provinces. The Gauteng government is paving the way for a controversial liquor bill to be made into a law that will ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
Said Mati: “The study has unearthed quite interesting trends in liquor consumption in the country. It shows that South Africans who do use alcohol consume an inordinate amount, more than twice the global average. The study, however, found that the average probability of alcohol consumption is lower in the Eastern Cape compared to the national average.” —
E Capers ‘drink liquor to cool off’
The study shows that Cacadu district is the drinking capital of the province with 34% of drinkers found there, while the Alfred Nzo is the least likely place to drink with 14% of the population considered active drinkers.
ECLB chief executive Gonza Mati said the 2012 study was conducted to identify problematic drinking trends that his organisation wanted to curb.
The study states that most people drink to forget about their problems, loneliness, to get drunk and boredom.
Angelique Fraser of the South African National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (Sanca) in East London said work related stress was a major contributor to drinking.
“A lot of people are stressed in their line of profession and they resort to drinking to escape from the stress. Once this happens it can affect every area of an individual’s life whether personally or socially,” Fraser said.
“The only way to solve the problem is counseling. The individual must first admit that there is a problem and be open about it. We provide in-patient treatment for our patients three weeks and offer counseling to the families. of the patient,” she said.
The majority of men interviewed by the Saturday Dispatch yesterday said they drank alcohol to “cool off” instead of drinking to escape from problems.
Nomkoko Mhlangabezi, 21, in Quigney said: “The purpose of for my drinking is to enjoy and ease off stress of for my school work especially on weekends with my friends. I don’t think someone can escape their problems by simply hitting the bottle. I have seen people who drink to escape their problems and as a result they end up crying when they are drunk.”
Anele Ncumani, 50, of Scenery Park said he drinks to be happy. “It’s not like I need the alcohol for happiness but you know how it is when you are a sports person, when your team is not scoring you need to keep yourself busy with beer,” he said Ncumani.
He said he sympathized with people who drank to escape their problems but emphasized that alcohol was not the way out.
The ECLB said it welcomed the news that people in the Eastern Cape consumed less alcohol than those in some of the other provinces. The Gauteng government is paving the way for a controversial liquor bill to be made into a law that will ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
Said Mati: “The study has unearthed quite interesting trends in liquor consumption in the country. It shows that South Africans who do use alcohol consume an inordinate amount, more than twice the global average. The study, however, found that the average probability of alcohol consumption is lower in the Eastern Cape compared to the national average.” —
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