Alcohol harm has a cost far beyond the bottle. It fuels violence, burdens hospitals, and steals potential from families and communities across South Africa. Yet, behind every statistic lies a story, of a life cut short, a family broken, a community left struggling. The True Cost of Alcohol campaign was created to confront this reality.
It’s a national movement led by civil society to save lives, reduce harm, and restore dignity through targeted alcohol tax reform. By raising prices and reducing easy access, we can slow consumption, prevent deaths, and shift the burden of alcohol harm away from the public and back onto the industry that profits from it.
Evidence shows that increasing alcohol excise taxes is one of the most effective and affordable ways to protect public health, reducing harm while generating revenue that can fund healthcare, education, and prevention. This campaign stands for a simple truth: when alcohol costs more, South Africa pays less.
