Alarming situation of alcohol, drug abuse

Pre-scoolers in rural areas are being treated for binge drinking along with a growing number of primary school children and teenagers, yet community leaders say the majority of "potential alcoholics" are not getting help.

They also fear the "very alarming" situation is getting worse.

In some cases seven-year-olds have had to be weaned off alcohol.

On Tuesday Brenda Pienaar, CEO of the SA National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in George, said "more and more children are drinking from a younger age".

Pienaar said while no official statistics were available yet, the number of children and teenagers seeking treatment in the George area since last year had increased from about 20 to 35 per month.

But, she said, for every child that came in for treatment, 17 others were drinking but not seeking help. This meant every month nearly 600 children were left untreated.

"These younger children get drunk on weekends. We've treated a seven-year-old but the majority are 10- and 11-year-olds.

These children are binge drinkers. Statistics show that 40 percent of those who start drinking before (the age of) 15 will become addicted to alcohol."

Social workers from the council had also heard pre-school children describe how they apparently smoked and drank with their parents.

Pienaar said poverty coupled with family disintegration often resulted in substance abuse.

"Alcohol is a major problem among adults and has spread to their children. Crystal methamphetamine (tik) is also a problem among the children."

She said alcohol and drug use resulted in less control over one's actions and could lead to violence and promiscuous behaviour.

Zackary Johnston, a member of the Theewaterskloof Emerging Farmers Association in Caledon, said he believed "a couple of hundred" children were drinking.

"There are definitely some pre-schoolers and those younger than 10 who are drinking. The parents don't seem to worry about the age of their children; they just give them alcohol and turn them into potential alcoholics. The children are also using tik and it seems the situation can't be controlled. The children are beyond their parents' control."

Johnston had tried to get parents involved in a community project which focused on protecting their children but he said he had no support from them.

He said last week's murder of 11-year-old Roseline Majola on a Joubertina farm allegedly by five girls and a boy aged between nine and 15 years, who police said had been drinking at the time, showed "the underlying problem of alcohol abuse".

Majola was stoned to death after an alleged argument about a bottle of wine. Her aunt was quoted in local tabloids as saying the family knew Majola often drank with friends.

Glynis Rhodes, of Women on Farms, said drinking among children from farming communities was a known problem.

"Just today (Wednesday) I heard of a 14-year-old who's a binge drinker. I think this is a cry for help. In the case of seven-year-olds, what bothers me is how that child accesses alcohol. Either the parents allow the child to drink, are too intoxicated to notice, or alcohol is too freely available," she said. - Cape Times

Police & Drug Crimes

Successful operation? Two joints? Qualified discharging a gun?

NO.

Clearly making South Africa SAFER from harmful drugs...
Check out this time line of traffic at South Africa's largest airport.

Only a small quantity of cannabis and 3g of hashish was found at the clubs.

Mentoor on Monday told e.tv that the raids were conducted according to "standard procedure".

The small amount of dagga/cannabis that was found in the 3 pubs last week, was allegedly planted by cops.

Stellenbosch: Yesterday the owner of Bohemia restaurant gave footage to Kaapse Son where according to staff it can clearly be seen how cops plant something under the bar. The people that were at Bohemia the night of the raid, say they suspect two guys that were hanging around the pub before the raid were cops. The video shows clearly how two large built guys stand around and lurk and bend slightly as the cops break through the doors.

One of the men then takes something from his pants pocket and messes with something under the bar. After that the two men stand up and simply stroll straight out of the pub - while chaos breaks out in the pub. Shortly after that a uniformed cop walks straight for the spot at the bar and picks something up that looks like dagga, and inspects it from all angels. Roussouw Botha, co-owner of Bohemia, says the CCTV in the pub was installed in the pub because of Police recommendations.

He says the latest video footage is now going to be used in the investigation against the police. In the mean time owners of the Bohemia restaurant, Springbok Pub and Mystic Boer have already laid criminal and civil charges against the police. Yesterday members of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) gathered all the CCTV footage and evidence.

Many students involved have already laid charges against the police. The ICD said yesterday that many statements had been lodged at local police station by people who say they were incorrectly handled by police in last week's raid.

Botha says: "We have already decided to work with the police, because we are also not in favour of people who sell drugs or use them on our premises." "I have already chided many people in my pub who wanted to do that here" ...

Yummy Stories - Cops Plant Drugs - In Die Son

Booze, unborn babies - a true horror story

South African wines are recognised as among the finest in the world, South African Breweries (SAB) is the second largest beer company in the world and local drinks are sold internationally.

But, while business is booming, the South African drinking culture unfortunately also has a number of black spots.

For one, it is generally accepted that alcohol is a leading cause of the carnage that occurs on the country's roads. Liquor also plays a part in domestic violence and neglect.

However, the biggest alcohol-induced problem in South Africa is foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

FAS is prevalent among children of mothers who consume alcohol during their pregnancies.

FASfacts, a Western Cape-based NGO committed to FAS education, says the issue is not the volume of alcohol so much as the fact that alcohol is consumed, which can cause a baby to be born with foetal alcohol syndrome.

Babies with FAS can be mentally challenged, stunted in growth or have major organ defects; alternatively they can be relatively normal children but display hyperactive behaviour patterns and poor concentration.

According to Professor Denis Viljoen, head of the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research in Cape Town, foetal alcohol syndrome is as great a threat to the health of the SA population as HIV/Aids.

Latest research in the Western and Northern Cape, as well as certain parts of Gauteng, has shown that between 4,5 percent and 12,2 percent of schoolgoing children have FAS.

"The incidence of FAS in first world countries ranges between 0,1 percent and 0,3 percent, which underscores the extent of the problem in South Africa. We have the highest extent of reported incidence of FAS in the world.

"The World Health Organisation recently identified birth defects as the most important cause of death, disease and future disability in developing countries.

"In South Africa, FAS is by far the most common birth defect. The incidence of FAS is higher than all other birth defects combined."

Dr Martin Fisher, a sociologist and consultant to FASfacts, says many social problems in South Africa can be related to FAS.

"Persons unlucky enough to be born with FAS in many cases have little impulse control. In many instances, the part of the brain responsible for reflection on personal behaviour and consequences of actions can be adversely affected by FAS," says Fisher.

"Without an impulse-checking function, these people are susceptible to random acts of violence, drug-taking and sexual abandon."

FASfacts is one of the major organisations responsible for preventing the occurrence of FAS, something it tackles through education programmes with adults and teenagers in the Western Cape.

"Fortunately, we have succeeded in highlighting the problem among various institutions which support us financially, making education programmes possible," says Francois Grobbelaar, CEO of FASfacts.

"The Western Cape government, the SA Wine Industry Trust, the Cape Winelands District Municipality and the KWV are some of our donors.

"All realise the devastating effects of FAS in their respective communities. Since 2004, FASfacts has reached 145 000 people in our education programmes. But the high figures of FAS prevalence show we still have a long way to go."

Rural areas

But why is FAS so common in these mainly rural Western and Northern Cape communities?

Santi Basson, an independent rural development consultant who is involved in various rural upliftment projects, says poverty and desperation are the main reasons.

"There are historical reasons, such as the notorious dopstelsel (dop system), which created a culture of alcohol use among rural communities," says Basson.

"But today, poverty and desperation lead to a lack of self-esteem. And in many of these impoverished communities, drinking is the only thing to do.

"During my research, I found pregnant women drinking out of ignorance about the effects of alcohol on the unborn child," she says.

"They assumed the alcohol content of beer to be negligible and believed it improved lactation. One cannot therefore come to any other conclusion than a desperate need for more education on FAS and its full spectrum of effects. The really sad thing about this social and health crisis called FAS is that it is 100 percent preventable," says Viljoen.

Grobbelaar says organisations such as FASfacts are facing a massive task by attempting to turn a surging tide.

"It is only by bringing the extent of this ticking time bomb to the attention of the broader society that awareness of FAS will reach the desired level where we will receive support from the entire country to address this crisis properly.

"FAS isn't restricted to a few rural villages. The social impact affects everyone," he says

With the international awareness of FAS in South Africa, the local liquor industry remains tainted.

Together with national government, which receives more than R3-billion a year from the industry through taxes and duties, the industry has to act on eradicating a monster it played a role - albeit unwittingly - in creating.

Joubert is an independent media consultant in the SA wine industry and a wine writer.

- Pretoria News