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Alcohol abuse results in specific health problems such as liver cirrhosis and alcohol dependence. Alcohol abuse is also a risk factor for certain cancers and heart disease and contributes significantly to violence as well road traffic accidents. Babies exposed to alcohol during pregnancy are at risk of long term consequences of brain damage (foetal alcohol syndrome). Beneficial health effects from regular drinking of responsible levels of alcohol are restricted to middle age and older, when protection from cardiovascular diseases comes into play.
This study estimates the burden of disease attributable to alcohol by sex and specific age groups in South Africa in 2000 using the comparative risk assessment methodology developed by the WHO. View the results. (pdf format, 323 kb)
Read more about research and policy on alcohol and drug abuse in South Africa.
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