Does a ban on booze help?

[netstrider]

Probably helps?

They could take some of that R500bn and turn all the closed restaurants into covid clinics.

 

[FNfal]

.1 % of people cannot behave themselves so lets ban alcohol for 99.9 % of people .
Only in South Africa would this be tolerated , and the chicken little's are revelling in it .

 

[KantSnyer]

I do not think the booze ban is preventing the crazies from getting fukked up over the weekend and stabbing each other.

And regarding car accidents due to being drunk: technically the curfew should take care of that hand in hand with proper policing.

So I voted a resounding: NO

Valid points so you don't agree the ban has freed up hospital resources, even if it's just one less drunk requiring attention?

Just trying to understand how there are so many No votes when for me it's obvious the ban will affect the number of people needing medical attention due to alcohol abuse, does not mean I agree with the ban.

 

[Craig_]

Those in the know says not really... I'd say they should know better than most of us. There's also some conflicting information where some says it has an effect. Sometimes coming from people that might be bias...

.......

General manager for emergency medicine at Life Healthcare, Charl van Loggerenberg, said: “Since South Africa officially moved to lockdown level 1, there has been no significant increase in alcohol-related emergency unit admissions in most Life Healthcare hospitals across the country.”

 

[Corelli]

.1 % of people cannot behave themselves so lets ban alcohol for 99.9 % of people .
Only in South Africa would this be tolerated , and the chicken little's are revelling in it .

The problem is the 1% of the population will fill up the hospitals, and then the 99% of people with Covid wont get attended to. Sad but the truth.


So when you google it simply.....

Majority of the sickness in South Africa are caused by the abuse of drugs and alcohol. After excessive use of alcohol and drug it can lead to the increase of rape, as the person is under the influence of these substances. After inhaling drugs and drinking alcohol the person becomes lazy and sometimes they don’t walk properly.

 

[TheMightyQuin]

Valid points so you don't agree the ban has freed up hospital resources, even if it's just one less drunk requiring attention?

Just trying to understand how there are so many No votes when for me it's obvious the ban will affect the number of people needing medical attention due to alcohol abuse, does not mean I agree with the ban.

No I don't...mainly because I believe the people that end up in hospital DUE TO alcohol...will end up there during the ban too.

These are not the kind of people that now will stop getting pissed and getting fukked up.

 

[KantSnyer]

No I don't...mainly because I believe the people that end up in hospital DUE TO alcohol...will end up there during the ban too.

These are not the kind of people that now will stop getting pissed and getting fukked up.

Agree in part, but I reckon society is a lot more complex than this and banning alcohol is going to have at least some kind of impact on numbers ending up in hospital.

 

[South Coaster]

Booze + Covid = Overload

As much as I enjoy my beer, I have to say that a ban DOES free up valuable space and resources in the hospitals.

 

[thirstycurve]

Without the relevant stats it's difficult to say

 

[hexagon]

It's plausible that it could help temporarily, although the curfew is too conflated for robust results. Any data was certainly not produced by a RCT.
But the effect will be temporary as organised crime will inevitably adapt to yet another attempt at a prohibition. If people can easily cook up crack cocaine in their kitchens, alcohol is laughably simple by comparison.
The Norwegian approach broke the back of the illegal heroin trade. Criminalisation of substances has been a boon to criminals. Always.

 

[Meta-Moffie-sis]

yes. it worked before and the curve flattened.

 

[Pixual]

That is a load of rubbish fed to us by media and inept government.

Banning alcohol does not stop people from drinking, nor does it do anything to aid in curbing the spread of covid.

Where are the field hospitals? Why were we forced to endure the most bizarre and in my mind completely ludicrous level 5 lock downs in 2020?

You know what Albert Einstein said about insanity, right?

If you want to deter people from getting into situations where their potential drunkenness lands them in hospital then what you say is this: if you arrive at a hospital with injuries because of intoxication your sojourn in hospital will be followed by a sojourn in prison.

Get people thinking. Don’t get their backs up.

 

[Arthur]

I'm dismayed but not surprised by how many defenders, proponents and supporters there are of authoritarian laws and practices. State compulsion is evidently not something that bothers most South Africans, at least not as a matter of principle. No lovers and defenders of liberty here - most clearly welcome the arms of the Big Daddy State. I'm shocked and saddened that even ostensibly educated people defend intolerable state impositions. No wonder liberty is in eclipse and tyranny on the rise.

 

[Nemus]

No.
This weekend mediclinic in somerset was full and a Neighbour was wheeled out of there to HHH, a state hospital.
So unless the booze ban impacts only the state hospitals, it’s not alleviating the pressure on hospitals.

 

[Tabac]

The problem is the 1% of the population will fill up the hospitals, and then the 99% of people with Covid wont get attended to. Sad but the truth.


So when you google it simply.....

Majority of the sickness in South Africa are caused by the abuse of drugs and alcohol. After excessive use of alcohol and drug it can lead to the increase of rape, as the person is under the influence of these substances. After inhaling drugs and drinking alcohol the person becomes lazy and sometimes they don’t walk properly.

This was kak funny. Were you under the influence when typing ?

 

[The Light Green Hornet]

I think there is a hidden problem here. The government can't hide their Eskom disaster but they are using Covid to hide their failure in the medical arena. Where are all the temporary field hospitals? Why are there reports of rat infested hospitals like Gwabera (or whatever the name is) and hospitals with empty beds or no vaccines? We heard of Cuban doctors being brought in while there are local doctors and nurses asking why. Accident admissions are not admitted the same as Covid patients, not are they supposed to occupy the same wards? What is going on here, or is it just another fine mess compliments of the ANC?

 

[Gone Fishing]

My concern with it is that other countries who's lockdowns successfully flattened the curve didn't ban all booze. They may have banned drinking at establishments but that was more for people socializing.

Other countries don't have the population that we have that is constantly killing, raping and crashing vehicles.
Other countries also have better healthcare facilities.

 

[Cius]

I spent some time helping out riding in ambulances back in the day when they still had the volunteer program. Over two thirds of people we picked up to take to hospital where drunk and the alcohol was the direct cause of whatever their injury was. So yes, it does help reduce loads on the hospital.

 

[Gone Fishing]

I spent some time helping out riding in ambulances back in the day when they still had the volunteer program. Over two thirds of people we picked up to take to hospital where drunk and the alcohol was the direct cause of whatever their injury was. So yes, it does help reduce loads on the hospital.

Same with the numerous Uber drivers I have spoken to, they have told me that drunk passengers are the worst and give them the most problems. Just because alcohol isn't a problem for us doesn't mean that it isn't a problem for other people.

The amount of of Uber drivers that have had to carry passed out people out of their car or had to clean up vomit itself is a sign of the risk of the spread.

 

[thestaggy]

Tricky one.

South Africa is a violent country and there is evidence that alcohol worsens this situation. South Africans are also retarded and insist on drunk driving when Uber is a thing. I can see how this adds unnecessary strain to the healthcare system.

I understand banning alcohol at bars/restaurants to try and control social distancing. Anybody that has been to a bar after 6 pm knows social distancing doesn't exist.

I however don't see why you cannot buy alcohol to enjoy at home and I also don't see why restaurants can't have sitdowns. Without alcohol, restaurants are not at too much of a risk of having large social groups staying for a long time. Quick meal and leave as there is not much of a reason to sit around.