Swaziland: Govt Attempts to Check Drinking
March 27, 2007
Posted to the web March 27, 2007
Mbabane
Recognising excessive alcohol consumption as an economic and social problem, the Swazi government has decided to regulate the distribution of drinks containing alcohol.
A draft National Liquor Policy prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors, discourages alcohol consumption in the workplace, and calls for a public education policy focusing on the damage caused by drunkenness. Until now there has been no age restriction on drinking. Swaziland's first attempt to check alcohol consumption is likely to come into effect in 2008.
The policy underlines the need for action against drunkenness associated with violence against women and children, a rising number of road accidents, unemployment, and accelerating the spread of HIV/AIDS. Two-thirds of the country's roughly 1 million people live on US$2 or less a day, and the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS has reached 34.2 percent among those aged 15 to 49, the highest in the world.
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