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To: Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition - Mr Parks Tau Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition- Mr. Mzwandile Collen Masina Chief Director of the National Liquor Authority - Ms. Prea Ramdhuni
Tell Min Tau to stop selling our children to big Alcohol Corps.
Ban alcohol advertisements that associate drinking alcohol with success, wealth and social acceptance.
Why is this important?
Alcohol abuse is poisoning our youth. Right now, 48% of young people between 10 and 19 are already drinking alcohol[1]. These are children who should be dreaming big, learning, and building their futures, yet they are being targeted by an industry that profits from harming them.
Alcohol is pushed into young people’s lives everywhere: on billboards, in music videos, through celebrities, influencers and sports sponsorships. They are constantly told that drinking will make them confident, attractive, successful and admired. But what many people don’t know is that this kind of advertising is illegal. South Africa’s Liquor Act 59 of 2003, Regulation 7(1)(c), states: adverts may not “suggest that the consumption of liquor… is a source of success, achievement, sexual prowess, social acceptance, personal success, business or sporting achievement.”[2]
Due to Minister Parks Taus’ incompetence, alcohol companies break the law every single day. The Johnnie Walker advert with Trevor Noah[3], Savanna’s Neat campaign[4], and Castle Lager’s “brewing greatness” adverts [5] all sell alcohol as a symbol of success, wealth, friendship, and joy and everything the law forbids.
We are calling on Minister Parks Tau and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to stop looking the other way and start enforcing our laws. Ban adverts that break Regulation 7(1)(c). Protect our communities, not corporate profits.
Their failure to act has devastating consequences. Harmful alcohol use costs South Africa R37.9 billion every year in healthcare, policing, social harm and lost productivity[6]. Research shows that almost 50% of homicide cases in South Africa involve alcohol[7]. And 27% of fatal road crashes are linked to alcohol lives ended, families broken, and communities traumatised[8].
Young people pay the highest price. The Department’s own data shows that children who start drinking before 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol later in life[9]. When advertising tells them that alcohol is a ticket to success, it is shaping how an entire generation sees themselves and their future.
Young people pay the highest price. The Department’s own data shows that children who start drinking before 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol later in life[9]. When advertising tells them that alcohol is a ticket to success, it is shaping how an entire generation sees themselves and their future.
Our children deserve to grow up free from predatory marketing that glamorizes something that destroys lives. If we could remove cigarette ads from our stadiums and screens, we can do the same with alcohol advertising that violates the law.
By signing this petition, you are standing with parents, teachers, community leaders and young people across the country to demand real accountability. No more adverts that link alcohol with success. Enforce the law now and protect our children’s futures.
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