Drug and Alcohol abuse refers to the changes and characters to the body of a person, which may have caused by the ingestion of substances. When these substances are consumed in large quantities they can cause a bodily harm to the one who consumed it, and sometimes it may cause the division in the family

Drug and Alcohol abuse in South Africa has greatly increased and has a lot of effect that it causes. Most of the families have faced family separation as a result of excessive use of Drugs and alcohol. When someone is under the influence of alcohol and drugs it is very difficult for that person to make good and sound decisions. Most of the people who are under the influence of drugs and alcohol they live each day with problems without being solved. Although alcohol is legal and not prohibited in South Africa, many under aged people still face bad consequences of using alcohol.

Drug and alcohol abuse in South Africa has destroyed the future of its youth and elderly people. Most of the youth are unable to concentrate with their education. They are always fighting each other, and as a result they lose friends. 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.

Drugs and alcohol abuse can even cause the depression to a person.

In South Africa many deaths like the accidents are caused by the abuse of alcohol. Most of the people they are very addicted and up doing unsafe sexual practices with different partners, which is the main cause of sexual transmitted infections. Children suffer because of the abusive of these substances by their parents, as they no longer take care of them and provide them with their necessity. Strict laws must be implemented to reduce these abuse.


Drug and Alcohol (Substance) abuse refers to the obsessive use of habit forming drugs, in order to experience various physiological effects.

Three definitive ranges of substance abuse can be illustrated, namely extensive; moderate and less frequently used drugs.

In South Africa, alcohol accounts for a large portion of extensive drug abuse, with dagga and over the counter drugs trailing close behind. South Africans consume a monstrous five billion litres of alcohol annually! Over the counter depressants such as benzodiazepines (which have sedative effects) are favoured widely among abusers.

Moderately used drugs in South Africa include Cocaine and Heroin which produce varying states of mind altering hallucinations.

Rohypnol (known as the date-rape drug) and Ketamine (used in anaesthetics) form part of the less frequently used substances in our country.

South Africa is known for having ‘Poly-substance’ abusers. This means that they become addicted to combinations of drugs, such as mixtures of alcohol and muscle relaxants or cough mixtures. These abusers are of the most hazardous kind, not only to themselves but to those around them.

Habitual drug users have disastrous effects on many people around them. This not only includes their family and direct social groups, but all South Africans who use our roads and transport systems; their colleagues; unborn children…the list goes on.

The harm induced by drug abuse and addiction in South Africa, is echoed in our over-burdened justice scheme as well as loss of efficiency in the workplace and overall societal breakdown.

There are numerous factors that encourage South Africans to use drugs and ultimately become reliant on them. Among children and teenagers, peer pressure and poor social conditions and poverty have a definite influence on the rise of substance abuse. The inability to cope with personal problems, due to lack of education and parental influence, unquestionably has a bearing on South African youth becoming dependant.

The popular catchphrase ‘Prevention is better than cure’, is imperative to bear in mind. Education among South Africans, the extensive exposure of programs such as ‘DRIVE ALIVE’ and ‘DRUGWISE’, as well as family intervention, are all factors that will greatly reduce the rise of drug abuse in our country.

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