SAB SUPPORTS AWARE.ORG TO REDUCE HARM CAUSED BY MISUSE OF ALCOHOL IN SA

SAB SUPPORTS AWARE.ORG TO REDUCE HARM CAUSED BY MISUSE OF ALCOHOL IN SA

Johannesburg. 11 December 2017. The South African Breweries (SAB) will work alongside the newly launched Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (AWARE.org) on evidence based initiatives that focus on reducing the harm caused by alcohol misuse in South Africa.

AWARE.org, previously the Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA), recently re-launched as the organisation strengthens its focus on creating a national culture of responsible drinking and a generation of South Africans free of alcohol abuse.

 “As a uniquely new organisation, the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Educations or AWARE.org, we accept that we cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results. We accept that we have a pivotal part to play in building and nurturing an alcohol harm-free South Africa. This will allow us to not lose another generation to the scourge of alcohol abuse,” says Ingrid Louw, CEO of AWARE.org

SAB, as a member of AWARE.org, works alongside the organisation to reduce harm caused by alcohol misuse.

Some of the AWARE.org projects SAB supports focus on underage drinking, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) and drinking and driving.

The projects include:

  • FASD prevalence study in the Prince Albert Municipality of the Western Cape. The programme creates awareness around alcohol consumption during pregnancy and empowers communities to make more responsible drinking choices.
  • R40m investment in tavern upgrades in the Western Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng to enhance tavern safety and pedestrian road safety initiatives in the three provinces.
  • Partnership with the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), which rehabilitates perpetrators of drinking and driving.  

“As an organisation, SAB and AB InBev are making a bigger investment in initiatives that measurably shift social norms and behaviours to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. We are proud to be working with AWARE.org so that we make an effective impact on local communities and help to bring positive change,” says Doreen Kosi, Vice President Legal and Corporate Affairs, SAB and AB InBev. 

Through its Global Smart Drinking Goals, AB InBev has committed to investing $1-billion USD across the world in dedicated social marketing campaigns and related education programs by 2025 to promote Smart Drinking.

In addition to the programmes in partnership with AWARE.org, SAB’s Smart Drinking initiatives include:

 

  • SAB’s 18+ Be the Mentor campaign, which is a call-to-action for adults to become role models in the fight against underage drinking;
  • The SAB Smart Drinking Squad work to educate, enable and empower licenced tavern owners, their patrons and local communities to use alcohol responsibly;
  • Future Leaders, a local reality television programme which follows the lives of five teenagers tackling issues of alcohol abuse and other social ills;
  • SAB’s Smart Trader Programme that educates retailers on key principles of smart trading to promote compliance. Some of these principles include not serving alcohol to intoxicated and pregnant customers or to anyone underage.
  • A Global City Pilot project which will deliver a toolkit of programmes to combat drinking and driving, underage drinking, binge-drinking as well as awareness around alcohol health;
  • SAB will empower consumers to make smart drinking choices by ensuring that they have access to both no- and lower-alcohol options as well as information about the products they are consuming. The company recently launched Castle Free, its first no-alcohol beer.

 

“In a country where misuse of alcohol is prevalent, the need for interventions aimed at addressing this habit is pressing. SAB is investing in science-based programmes to advance positive social behaviour change and address harm reduction head-on.

 

“At SAB we believe that smart drinking choices affect everyone, every day. We are committed to helping foster a global culture of smart drinking to reduce the harmful use of alcohol,” says Kosi.  

 

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For media enquiries please contact Azure Janneker on Azure.Janneker@za.ab-inbev.com or 079 505 6966

 

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