A recent Business Day article quoting SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac frames minimum unit pricing (MUP) as a threat to the poor, yet the real threat is the torrent of cheap, supersized beer flooding low-income communities. DG Murray Trust CEO Dr David Harrison notes that, even if SAB’s own estimate is right and illicit alcohol represents around a fifth of the market, the lion’s share of harm still stems from legally produced liquor. One one-litre Castle Lager, priced per litre at half the cost of smaller bottles, already carries enough pure alcohol to push a driver over the legal limit, suggesting deliberate pricing tactics that encourage excessive consumption.
International evidence shows MUP reduces heavy drinking where it matters most: among poorer households, whose alcohol-related mortality is higher than in wealthier areas. Scotland and Wales have seen measurable health gains without the collapse in tax revenue the industry predicts, and legal alcohol sales in South Africa continue to grow, hardly the sign of an industry under siege from the illicit market. Oversupply, not price reform, is what punishes the poor. David spoke to Newzroom Afrika to discuss this further.
