Young women’s alcohol intake on the rise

160111 BACCHUS’S BABES: ‘There has been an increase in women drinking. And they are into heavier cocktails, which come with a higher liquor content. French vodka, which is one of the most versatile drinks, has become a favourite with many of them,’ says Kgolo Temba, a Durban entertainment consultant.

160111 BACCHUS’S BABES: ‘There has been an increase in women drinking. And they are into heavier cocktails, which come with a higher liquor content. French vodka, which is one of the most versatile drinks, has become a favourite with many of them,’ says Kgolo Temba, a Durban entertainment consultant.

Published Jun 7, 2013

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Durban - Drinking among women students at local universities is on the rise.

However, it appears they have not yet caught up with their male colleagues when it comes to hitting the hard stuff.

According to Themba Sithole, who owns a liquor outlet near Durban’s Berea Centre, the number of young women coming in to buy alcohol has increased over the past three years.

Although he said men continue to dominate the pub crawls, Sithole also noted that a lot of young women had become more adventurous and are now willing try more masculine drinks.

“I think they are now more brave when it comes to what they drink. There are definitely a lot more female beer drinkers and now they even drink spirits. I even know a lot of the bars who have just stopped serving cocktails because it’s not worth it. So definitely the drinking culture in its entirety has changed.”

Although there are regulations around liquor outlets next to schools, Sithole pointed out that there are no regulations related to universities and said that this has made a lot of young students vulnerable to alcoholism.

 

The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has issued a report saying the number of people it treated between the ages of 18-21 accounts for up to 17 percent of their clients.

If this trend continues Durban, which is known for hosting the annual matric Rage parties at the beachfront in September and December, could be faced with more and more intoxicated and rowdy teenagers.

According to Metro Police spokesperson Eugene Msomi there were cases of underage drinking at the parties last year and he said that at future gatherings there would be a crackdown at the old drive-in site where a lot of buses and taxi park for the events.

“During these times we have a lot of young girls and boys coming into the city to party and since the transport they come in has been located in one area they often smuggle alcohol in from wherever they are coming from and do not even need to worry about buying it here.,” said Msomi. - Independent on Saturday

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