The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA

The True Cost of Alcohol is a national civil-society campaign to save lives, reduce harm and restore dignity through targeted alcohol tax reform.

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Alcohol harm isn’t just a health issue, it’s a national crisis. Through stronger policies and higher taxes, we can save lives, protect communities, and build a healthier future. Increase excise tax on alcohol above inflation.

#easterweekend
#ChooseLifeThisEaster
#increaseexcisetax
#TheTrueCostOfAlcohol

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

SAAPA SA speaks on the National Treasury's oral submission hearings that occurred on Thursday.

https://t.co/kjeWNZBwku

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

HAPPY AFRICA DAY! 🇿🇦🌍

Today, as we celebrate the vibrant heritage and unity of our beautiful continent, the South African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA SA) invites you to look at a major issue facing our nation: resource scarcity.

As alcohol sales decline in Europe, global corporations are targeting Africa as their next big frontier for market expansion. But while these companies heavily market their green initiatives, a closer look at the research reveals a pattern of corporate greenwashing. 

The Environmental Toll of Big Alcohol
Industrial brewing hides a heavy environmental burden behind slick corporate greenwashing. The data tells the real story: 

Rising Water Abuse: Companies boast about using less water per drink, but soaring production means their actual total water consumption is climbing. 

Rigged Metrics: Industry reports ignore agricultural water use, hiding roughly 90% of beer’s total water footprint. 

Surging Carbon Emissions: Efficiency claims are a smoke screen. Because production is expanding, total greenhouse gas emissions continue to skyrocket. 

Dumping the Waste: Corporate recycling claims ignore downstream reality, leaving African communities to deal with the mountain of plastic, cans, and bottles left behind.

⚠️ Worse yet, these environmental claims rely entirely on internal corporate data without any independent, third-party verification. 

This Africa Day, SAAPA SA calls for strict regulatory oversight and full transparency. Africa’s precious natural resources must be protected for the health of our communities, not depleted for corporate profit. 

Let’s build a sustainable, healthy, and conscious South Africa. ✊🏽🇿🇦

#AfricaDay #GreenwashingExposed #SaveOurResources #PublicHealthOverProfit #SaapaSA

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Further analysis identifies the proliferation of taverns as a key structural driver of harm within South African communities.

The increasing number and concentration of taverns, often referred to as high outlet density, significantly expands the physical availability of alcohol. This means alcohol becomes more visible, more accessible, and more embedded in everyday life.

Research indicates:

• An increased number of taverns leads to higher levels of alcohol availability within communities
• Higher availability increases both exposure to alcohol and frequency of consumption
• Increased consumption is directly associated with higher rates of trauma admissions, gender-based violence, road accidents and long-term social harm

This pattern is not incidental. It is enabled through liquor licensing systems, which determine how many outlets are approved, where they are located, and how densely they are concentrated. In many cases, this results in a higher concentration of alcohol

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #MayDay

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

MAYDAY. MAYDAY.
An alert to communities and policymakers.

The rapid spread of taverns is driven by licensing systems that expand access without limiting harm.

More licences mean more outlets.
More outlets mean constant exposure.
Constant exposure drives consumption.

This is not growth.
This is a system producing harm at scale.

The true cost of alcohol is built into how it is allowed to spread.

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #MayDay

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

MAYDAY. MAYDAY.🚨
This is a national alert.‼️

This May Day, we are sounding the alarm to communities, leaders and policymakers across South Africa to recognise the true cost of alcohol.

What looks like choice is often a system.
A system built on availability, marketing, affordability and normalisation.

A system where the profits rise, while our communities are left drowning in the consequences.
The true cost of alcohol is not what you pay at the till.
It is paid in overburdened healthcare, unsafe communities, lost productivity and social harm that impacts us all.

Throughout May, this campaign will unpack the system behind alcohol harm.
We will expose how availability drives consumption, how marketing shapes behaviour, how affordability sustains the cycle, and how the real cost is carried by society.

MAYDAY is the signal.🚨

An alert to shift how we understand alcohol harm.
An alert to move from individual blame to systemic accountability.
An alert to act.
Because until we see the system, we cannot change the outcome.

#MaydaySA #TrueCostOfAlcohol #SAAPA

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Makhosazana Ndlovu, Project Associate , presented a poster on “Legal Literacy for Stronger Alcohol Policy Advocacy: Empowering Community-Led Reform in South Africa” at GAPC 2026.

This initiative employs a participatory model to bridge the gap between national legislation and local action. By equipping Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) with legal literacy and simplifying complex policy frameworks, the program transforms community members into informed advocates capable of dismantling alcohol-related harm.

Community voices are the cornerstone of this reform because they provide the lived reality that national data often misses. By centering these perspectives, the campaign shifts the focus from industry revenue to social protection. Empowered communities ensure that policy isn't just written on paper, but actively enforced to protect public health and hold local systems accountable.
#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #GAPC2026

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Positioning South Africa within the global alcohol policy agenda

At the Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC) 2026, a premier international forum convening leaders across government, civil society, and academia, SAAPA SA contributed to advancing coordinated, evidence-informed responses to alcohol-related harm. SAAPA SA Advocacy and Communication Manager, Larissa Morar , participated in a global panel alongside Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, reflecting growing alignment across regions on the need for policy approaches that are both globally informed and locally driven.

The presentation, “Emotional Storytelling as a Bridge to Alcohol Policy Change in South Africa”, was grounded in a clear strategic premise: in South Africa, effective communication sits at the intersection of data, culture, and accessibility. While the evidence on alcohol harm is extensive, it does not drive change unless it is understood, felt, and shared. In a diverse, mobile-first society with strong oral and cultural storytelling traditions, SAAPA SA’s True Cost of Alcohol campaign was designed to translate complex evidence into simple, relatable narratives delivered across an integrated, multi-channel ecosystem.

This approach prioritized meaning over information, ensuring that data became socially relevant and capable of mobilizing communities and influencing public discourse.
In a context where alcohol harm contributes to daily loss of life, gender-based violence, and up to 10–12% of GDP loss, this strategy has reached over 6.2 million South Africans while strengthening the link between public engagement, media visibility, and policy influence. It reflects an evolving global practice where advocacy is most effective when evidence is embedded within lived experience and executed with strategic precision.

SAAPA SA continues to contribute to this global movement, advancing high-impact, evidence-informed approaches to alcohol policy reform.

#GAPC2026 #AlcoholPolicy #PublicHealth #StrategicCommunications #SAAPA #GlobalHealth #PolicyLeadership

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Campaign and Communications Update

SAAPA SA prioritizes ensuring that both civil society and policymakers receive the evidence necessary to implement effective alcohol policies. Prior to the 2026 National Budget, we dispatched an SOS-style evidence-based briefing to all parliamentarians and political parties, outlining the critical role of excise tax and the socio-economic impacts of alcohol.

SAAPA SA and "The True Cost of Alcohol" campaign is not affiliated with any political party.

Our mandate is driven by independent research, aligned with The National Drug Master Plan for public health advocacy to foster an #AlcoholSAFER South Africa.

#SAAPASA #TrueCostOfAlcohol #AlcoholSaferSA

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

SAAPA SA’s True Cost of Alcohol Campaign Director, Nomcebo Dlamini, participated in a high-level panel at GAPC 2026 alongside delegates from Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines to discuss “The True Cost of Alcohol: Traditional Leadership, Civil Society, and Fiscal Policy Advocacy in South Africa.”

Leveraging the governance of National House of the Traditional and Khoisan leaders representing 19 million people, the campaign seeks to transition the fiscal narrative from revenue generation to social protection. This technical shift supports a strategic call to increase excise tax as a primary public health intervention to mitigate the externalized costs of alcohol harm, demonstrating a replicable, community-driven model for the Global South.

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #increaseexcisetaxonalcohol

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

SAAPA SA joins global partners at the RESET Alcohol Partner Meeting in Rio de Janeiro for GAPC 2026 to represent the True Cost of Alcohol.

SAAPA SA delivered in-depth strategies through panel discussions alongside partners from Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines. Collaborative engagement with the RESET Alcohol team, a global initiative led by Vital Strategies and the World Health Organization, consolidated the technical expertise necessary to direct national and international policy frameworks.

The Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC 2026) is the premier forum for alcohol policy architects. It serves as a strategic launchpad for global mobilization to ensure the socio-economic impact of alcohol is prioritized within the highest tiers of governmental and multilateral agendas.

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #increaseexcisetaxonalcohol

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

🕵️ DECODING THE SYSTEM | Terminology Tuesday | PT 1

Behind every policy is a set of terms we don’t always understand. Today, we’re shining a light on Excise Tax.

The Breakdown: A tax placed on specific goods, like alcohol or tobacco, that are considered harmful to society. Unlike VAT, it targets the product itself.

When we speak the same language, we can demand better accountability. Knowledge is the first step toward a safer society. 🇿🇦

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostofAlcohol #AlcoholSaferSA

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

This easter the harm extends beyond roads, in homes, what begines as a celebration can escalate into conflict.
Arguments can become violent.
In South Africa, more than a third of women
experience violence, and it is far more likely and severe when alcohol is involved

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #AlcoholSafer #Easter

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

It begins like any other long weekend. The bags are packed, and Families are heading home to Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, and KZN. There is laughter, music, and anticipation. Alcohol is part of the celebration.
By Monday, the consequences are stark.
Some families do not make it home.
Some return changed forever.

Across SA, an estimated 100 people die every day due to alcohol-related harm. These are not random occurrences, but the predictable outcome of a system that allows cheap, accessible alcohol to intersect with high-risk behaviour.

#SAAPASA #TheTrueCostOfAlcohol #AlcoholSafer #Easter

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

https://t.co/uDDgRpQKy3

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

The Constitution guarantees children the right to live free from violence.🇿🇦

Alcohol harm is a leading contributor to assault, domestic violence and community crime. Children in these environments grow up with fear and insecurity.

Protecting human rights means addressing alcohol harm where it starts #TrueCostOtAlcohol

#HumanRightsMonth #ChildHealth #ProtectOurChildren

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

This Human Rights Day remember protecting children's rights means protecting them from alcohol-related harm.🇿🇦🧑‍🧒‍🧒

Every child has the right to safety health education and dignity. Widespread alcohol outlet proximityto educational institutions and alcohol retail within communities violates these rights in homes, schools and communities.

The True Cost of Alcohol is not measured in rand it is measured in lives futures and opportunities lost. It is time to act. Share your story in the comments below and what a #AlcoholSaferSouthAfrica would look like to you.
Protecting children's rights means reducing the harms caused by cheap and easily accessible alcohol.

#TrueCostfAlcohol #HumanRightsDay #ProtectOurChildren #SafeCommunities #HumanRightsMonth

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Children have the right to betreated with respect and dignity.
Growing up in homes and communities affected by alcohol harm often erodes a child’ssenseof self-worth.

Fear trauma and instability compromise their wellbeing and their ability to thrive.
The True Cost of Alcoholis not just physical harm it’s the loss of dignity and security.

Protecting children’s rights means reducing the harms caused by cheap and easily accessible alcohol.

#TrueCostOfAlcohol #Human #RightsMonth #ProtectOurChildren #AlcoholSaferSA

[The True Cost of Alcohol - By SAAPA @TrueCost_SAAPA]

Children have the right to conditions that support physical and mental wellbeing.🧑‍🧒‍🧒

Alcohol harms children's health in multiple ways. Prenatal exposure can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders household, alcohol misuse creates trauma and community alcohol harm strains healthcare resources meant for children.

The True Cost of Alcohol is paid in preventable illness and lost futures.

Protecting children's rights means reducing the harms caused by cheap and easily accessible alcohol.

#TrueCostOfAlcohol #HumanRightsMonth #ChildHealth #ProtectOurChildren