The National Liquor Traders Council (NLTC) says a sustainable solution is needed to address the rise in substance abuse among youth, which does not include banning alcohol advertising.

The remarks follow concerns raised by the Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who highlighted that substance abuse not only harms young lives but also contributes to unemployment and crime.

Critics believe that alcohol advertising plays a significant role in promoting alcohol consumption among young people.

NLTC convenor, Lucky Ntimane, says banning alcohol advertising is a short-sighted approach to the issue.

“We are also saying that he highlighted the issue around unemployment, that yes, indeed, as much as the alcohol abuse and also drug abuse will contribute to unemployment, but if you ban the advertisement of alcohol, we are also perpetuating unemployment in our country, where the economy is growing at less than one percent on an annual basis, where 37 percent of black people in the country are unemployed, where three million graduates in our country are unemployed. So we need to find a sustainable way in which we will address our issues, but also maintain or even sustain the issue of job creation in our country.”

This follows the tabling of the Liquor Amendment Bill in Parliament, which seeks to ban the advertisement, promotion and product placement of alcohol across all media platforms.

The Bill also calls for the state to actively counter the normalisation of alcohol use and curb alcohol-related harm by reducing the visibility and consumption of liquor.

VIDEO | National Liquor Traders Council spokesperson Lucky Ntimane’s full interview on SAfm’s First Take SA: