South African government plans to ban alcohol advertisement

The South African government has drafted a bill to ban the alcohol advertising for the national health, an official said on Friday. South Africa's Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini said that the cabinet's purpose of the draft bill is to reduce or even avoid the public exposure to the promoting advertisement of the harmful alcohol. "The harmful use of alcohol has significant negative impacts on individuals, families, communities, the economy and the country as a whole," she pointed out. "Alcohol consumption in South Africa results in significant morbidity and mortality, increases violence, crime and road traffic crashes," said the minister. Alcohol is viewed as the third biggest killer for the death in South Africa, being responsible for more than 100 deaths every day. The South African health department said that it was estimated that the intangible costs to the country made by the alcohol- related harm could reach more than 240 billion rands (about 24 billion U.S. dollars). "It is the state's responsibility to protect the health and well-being of South Africans," said the minister. However, the draft bill has been opposed by some economic sectors. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the alcohol advertisement banning draft bill would have a negative impact on the related industry and economy. Before approving the draft bill, the South African government will make it gazetted for public comments on Wednesday.