Group urges midnight cap on alcohol sales - TimesLIVE
The economic and health costs of binge drinking in South Africa should be top of mind when provinces consider extending trading hours. The Constitutional Court will hear next month in a case that will have nationwide implications as to what are permissible trading hours.
The DG Murray Trust (DGMT), founded nearly 50 years ago by Douglas George Murray and his wife Eleanor, will argue before the apex court that any sale of liquor beyond midnight is an affront to human rights.
DGMT’s landmark case challenges parts of the Northern Cape Gambling and Liquor Act of 2024, which extended liquor trading hours in a province already grappling with high rates of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
The civil society group drew first blood when the Northern Cape High Court ruled earlier this year that provinces have a constitutional responsibility to protect public health and safety by limiting when alcohol can be sold.
The main issue the court took with the Northern Cape laws, which would have seen drinking outlets open until the wee hours of the morning, was lack of public consultation.
DGMT has now approached the country’s highest court to confirm the high court’s ruling, which is required in law. “It will appear from the evidence and our submissions below regarding the DGMT’s appeal [that] the extension of liquor trading times, especially very late at night and into the early morning hours, will lead to an increase in binge and heavy drinking in vulnerable communities,” reads DGMT’s court papers before the ConCourt.
“We submit that the uncontested expert evidence of Prof Parry and Ms Filby proves that a law that extends the number of days each week and makes provision for lengthy periods each day [especially late at night] when liquor may be purchased will increase the health risks and health and economic costs associated with harmful alcohol use.”
Trading beyond midnight is a regular occurrence in many of South Africa’s townships, with enforcement of the laws falling short.
The move by DGMT comes as the liquor industry, which sustains 500,000 jobs and generates R215.5bn in household income, comes under pressure to promote responsible drinking.
National Treasury has proposed an overhaul of its alcohol excise tax framework, introducing a tiered system that could increase taxes on standard and high-strength beers by up to 20%. The industry has warned this will only drive people to illegal alcohol, said to already constitute 20% of the market, resulting in hefty losses for the fiscus.
Kashifa Ancer, campaign manager of Rethink Your Drink, DGMT’s alcohol harm reduction campaign, said provinces cannot pass liquor laws that ignore evidence, sideline the public and leave communities to absorb the harm of heavy drinking. “DGMT’s position is that liquor trading hours should be determined by evidence of what reduces alcohol-related harm, rather than primarily by the commercial interests of the liquor industry,” Ancer told Business Times.
“We support midnight as the latest closing time for establishments selling alcohol for consumption on their premises, rather than permitting sales until 2am or 6am. We also support restricting Sunday sales for off-consumption outlets. These are among the measures we have asked the Constitutional Court to apply temporarily in the Northern Cape while the provincial legislature corrects the constitutional defects in its legislation.”
DGMT is also separately advocating for the National Treasury to impose minimum unit pricing (MUP) — setting a floor price below which a standard drink of alcohol cannot be sold.
The organisation said this would raise the price of cheap, high-strength alcohol sold in large containers, the format preferred by heavy drinkers, arguing that currently, moderate drinkers pay roughly R12 per standard drink, while heavy drinkers pay as little as R1.53.
“South Africans are among the heaviest drinkers in the world. The South African Medical Research Council estimates that drinkers consume an average of 64.6 grams of pure alcohol per day. In 2015 alone, alcohol caused an estimated 62,300 adult deaths, 60% of them in lower socio-economic groups, and cost the economy between 10% and 12% of GDP,” Ancer said.
“Despite industry protestations, global evidence bolsters the case for MUP. After Scotland introduced MUP in 2018, alcohol-attributable deaths dropped by 13.4%, hospital admissions fell by 4.1%, and total consumption dropped by 3%, with the largest health gains achieved in low-income areas.
“The Scottish government also reported that an evaluation led by Public Health Scotland found no clear evidence of substantial negative impacts on Scotland’s alcoholic drinks industry as a whole. MUP and excise must work hand in hand.”
