As a former Wellconal Addict, i was very moved on reading the article, as the addict has never been taken into account. Viewed as worthelss, hopeless rejects of society, we were shunned, ignored and hidden away, locked up and left to rot. Now that addiction has been classified as a disease, and a greater understanding is being formed - its time for us to fight back. Smith & Nephew / Glaxo Smith & Kline (Cant remember who rpoduces the stuff) knew of the abuse that was ging on, yet did nothing to stem the supply ??? And continued to profit on the misery of others! I used to get the stuff by the bottle, from someone who used to work in the production plant. Even after our arrest, this was made known to the company, nothing was done. Many "friends" of mine died, many kids lost their mothers, fathers etc etc...And now that I managed to rise above those circumstances, do you think anyone will give a helping hand.????
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Manage Articles NGO's Non Profit News AAC lauds brewer’s anti-drinking campaign, but calls for ‘far greater efforts’
Manage Articles NGO's Non Profit News AAC lauds brewer’s anti-drinking campaign, but calls for ‘far greater efforts’
| AAC lauds brewer’s anti-drinking campaign, but calls for ‘far greater efforts’ |
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| NGO's / Non Profit News / Wednesday, 09 September 2009 15:07 |
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By, Llewellyn Kriel
However, this is only the first step, warned the AAC’s chairman, Warren Whitfield, saying companies profiting from the sale of alcohol need to plough much greater sums into “harm reduction investment” as part of meaningful social responsibility and “righting massive imbalances in society”. “We’ve seen the havoc that alcohol abuse can wreak even with someone of the stature of Judge Nkola Motata, so no one is beyond its reach. But today more and more people are at severe risk due to a cruel confluence of circumstances such as hopeless unemployment levels, despair, isolation (especially in rural communities) and the sheer power of unscrupulous advertising,” said Whitfield. South Africa has the dubious distinction of having the highest levels of foetal alcohol syndrome in the world with the global capital, not in some inner-city ghetto, but the impoverished platteland community of De Aar in the Northern Cape where 122 out of every 1000 babies born have fetal alcohol syndrome. The AAC is campaigning for the complete abolition of alcohol advertising – a view supported this week by none other than the influential British Medical Association which wants the curtailment of the British alcohol industry's R8-billion annual promotional budget to include its sponsorship of sports and arts events. The AAC enjoys the support of Zackie Achmat, world renowned founder of the Treatment Action Campaign, who said, “It’s only a matter of time before alcohol advertising is banned. It makes more sense to ban alcohol advertising than that of cigarettes”. Bantu Holomisa also said recently, “Perhaps it’s time to begin the debate. Perhaps we should move towards producing a white paper on the issue.” Expert estimates put SA’s addict population, including substance abuse, gambling and pornography, at well in excess of 10-million people. The annual cost to the economy runs into many billions of Rands in health care, death, insurance, lost productivity, unemployment and crime. The AAC, has approached Cosatu, civic associations, church groups and also asked scores of emerging multi-sectoral NGOs to support their march on the Sandton headquarters of SABMiller on 30 October to deliver memorandums to the alcohol industry, tobacco, casino, pornography trade and the country’s foremost pharmaceutical giants. “The time has come to measure the profits that they make from people who cannot control themselves and give back,” said Whitfield.
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