South Africa has a complex relationship with alcohol. In this episode of Up South, Dr David Harrison, CEO of DGMT talks from the heart about that relationship, both past and present and offers a positive message on how to manage its future, healthily and sustainably, for all South Africans. While alcohol is an important contributor to the economy, it is also a huge driver of a multitude of social problems. The hard national lockdown of 2020 (due to Covid-19) served as a mass social experiment when the SA government banned the sale of alcohol and gave researchers a unique opportunity to witness and measure how our society performed without alcohol. The results were not only fascinating but also provided  critical insight into the myriad ways small policy changes from both government and the alcohol industry, could dramatically reduce the level of alcohol harms in our country. 

This episode also offers valuable insight into South Africa's history with alcohol and the role it played in the implementation of Apartheid laws, as well as many other fascinating nuggets that change how we understand the economics of alcohol in our country.