Third of SA teens have consumed alcohol, study finds

CAPE TOWN - A new groundbreaking study has revealed that a third of South African teens have consumed alcohol in their lifetime.  

The Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education conducted online and in-person research with over one thousand young people in the country. 

The research revealed that 12% of online and 25% of in-person respondents reported regular drinking.

Aware.org's CEO, Mokebe Thulo, said global trends show that alcohol consumption in teens is lowering, but the reality in South Africa is different.

“The reality on the ground, though, in South Africa, in our backyards, is a little different. We know that we take a little bit of a while to catch on to global trends in that way, and so we hope that we shall soon be following suit," said Thulo.

Thulo said they consider the communities these teens come from when creating programmes

“So you do have to be very nuanced about your messaging, you have to understand what particular age group you are talking to, in some situations you have to differentiate between the genders and the sexes depending on the experiences of these young people," said Thulo.