SANCA: Kick your habit
SANCA commemorated Sanca Week between 21 and 27 June with the annual 'Kick your habit' campaign
SANCA (SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) commemorated Sanca Week between 21 and 27 June with the annual ‘Kick your habit’ campaign.
Representatives of the organisation publicised their campaign at Sanlam Centre in Empangeni where they handed out informative pamphlets about substance abuse and how to get help.
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The ‘Kick your habit’ drive encourages people to kick a bad habit and in so doing, put themselves in the shoes of a substance abuse addict for one week.
The purpose is to raise awareness of the complexities related to addiction and dependence.
The campaign seeks to build awareness through experience; by challenging individuals within our communities and country to stop using one ‘thing’ for a week and experience, albeit briefly, what a substance dependent might go through in treatment.
Substance dependency statistics show that drug consumption (cannabis, cocaine and tik) in South Africa is twice the global average and second to none in Africa. The average age of drug dependency in South Africa is 12 years old and decreasing, and South Africans are among the top 10 narcotics and alcohol abusers in the world.
For every 100 people, 15 have a drug problem, and for every R100 in circulation, R25 is linked to substance abuse.
Drug and alcohol dependency is a major issue for South African society and is often a contributing factor to other social ills such as violent crime, gender-based violence, child abuse, and the ever-increasing HIV/Aids incidence rates.
As of 2017, South Africa has the highest prevalence of Foetal Alchohol Syndrome Disorder in the world, with a rate 14 times higher than the global average.
As endemic as the problem of substance abuse within the country is, many South Africans know very little about the problem and how it might affect them personally.
Secondly, many people are unaware of the difficulties faced by substance dependents when first entering treatment, and the long-term fight they will face over the years after treatment.
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