A new study distributed under the South African Medical Journal reveals that substance addiction is so common in South Africa that one in five adults abuse substances like alcohol, dagga and painkillers.
Dr Allers from the South African Society of Psychiatrists remarks that alcohol consumption is still the primary component to substance addictions in South Africa.
There are ten million South Africans abusing substances and you don’t find 10 million people in rehabs. There’s a large proportion of people that don’t do anything about it, don’t recognise the problem and continue doing the problem.
There’s a massive awareness that needs to be made to get people to treatment.
Allers says the estimated cost of linked to alcohol abuse, whether direct or indirect, is sitting at R300 billion. That’s about 10% of the South Africa GDP, he says.
Dr Eugene Allers
