Cape Town - To Ocsober or not to Ocsober – that’s the question facing South Africans as they decide whether they’ll sign up for the month-long sobriety campaign.
Social media has been split over the drive. Some say they’ll probably throw in the towel and succumb to mixing booze with having a good time. But others with a bit more willpower say they are determined to shun even a glass of wine for the remainder of the month.
Those who say they won’t touch a drop include 5FM DJ Poppy Ntshongwana, who has taken the campaign to heart. On Thursday Ntshongwana posted on Instagram declaring that she was “Ocsobering this month”, and urged her followers to join her. “Day 1 ... #Ocsober ... We can do this!!! I feel like I’m running a support group. If you’re doing this, I’m here for you, mostly because we’re going to need each other. 31 days is a long time to not be drinking but we’re going to be healthier for it,” she wrote.
Ditching your favourite spirits or cocktails for a month is a big deal, according to the South African Medical Research Council. It disclosed earlier this year that alcohol remains the most widely abused drug in the country.
But despite the grim facts of alcohol abuse, on the first day of the campaign some Twitter users proved they were neither keen on the movement, nor willing to miss out on boozing. One user tweeted: “I’m participating in #Octsober, in which I spend the month persuading octopuses to give up alcohol.” Another tweeted: “Anyone doing #Octsober is nothing (but) a quitter and we can’t be friends.”
But community developer and trainer with the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Clara Monnakgotla said the campaign highlighted the dangers of alcohol abuse.
Weekend Argus