Monitoring alcohol and other substance use in South Africa: The alcohol and drug injury nexus

Since the early 1990s, with changing market conditions and the opening up of its borders and markets to global tourism, commerce and trade, South Africa has become an attractive market for long-distance drug trafficking and has seen an increase in the activities of international drug syndicates. In general, the Southern African region became exposed to drugs previously rarely available on the market, ranging from cocaine and opiates to synthetics like MDMA. Notwithstanding, alcohol and the locally produced illicit cannabis remain by far the most widely used drugs in the region. In fact, alcohol abuse alone is seen as a major cause of health and social problems in the region (MacDonald, 1996).