Tavern owners urged to stop selling liquor to kids, pregnant women

Tavern owners have been warned against selling liquor to children and pregnant women, Pretoria North Rekord reports.

Concerned Tshwane Liquor Traders Association chairperson Oupa Mthombeni urged liquor traders to abide by liquor bylaws following a tavern-to-tavern campaign in Soshanguve on Sunday.

“The objective of the campaign is to educate our members not to sell alcohol to pregnant women and underage children,” said Mthombeni.

“Our aim is to recruit all liquor traders in Tshwane so we can speak with one voice; when we say no selling of liquor to these groups, it should mean nobody sells to them.”

Mthombeni said the campaign would take place across Tshwane.

“We are also telling the National Liquor Authority not to look at taverns only. The rules must also apply to the supermarkets and bottle stores surrounding our township.”

Mthombeni said the campaign was also aimed at raising awareness around the high-risk activities related to alcohol abuse, such as violence, sexual activities and the spread of HIV/Aids.

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“The focus of this campaign is directed at young women and the youth, as they are vulnerable groups in our society.”

“We are also addressing the prevalence of FAS [foetal alcohol syndrome],” he said.

Mthombeni said it was a great cause for concern that 6 percent of children were born with the condition.

“We have addressed the community on the harmful effects of FAS, and we told them that prevention is better than cure.

“Prevention means 100 percent no drinking [alcohol] while expecting.”

The effects of the unborn child is that there are physical deformities, growth retardation as well as learning and behavioural disorders, he said.

“We still have a lot of binge drinking. We have a lot of people relying on liquor to boost their morale when they are feeling down.”

“Some business people take advantage of the fact that there is no bylaw enforcement on some of their businesses so there is a certain level of misuse of liquor in our society.”

– Caxton News Service

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