Trends in South African Household Alcohol Consumption Risk Factors

Objective: This study provides information regarding trends in alcohol consumption at the household level in South Africa using two national income and expenditure surveys collected in 1995 and 2000. These two datasets, from 1995 and 2000, contain information on alcoholic beverage expenditures, and, therefore, they represent a unique opportunity to examine changes in purchases of alcohol at the household level between 1995 and 2000 in South Africa. Method: Two different stratified random samples of the South African population were surveyed. In 1995, 127772 persons in 29595 households were surveyed, while there were 104153 people in 26264 households surveyed in 2000. Alcohol consumption was surveyed via a number of questions regarding expenditure on alcoholic beverages. Logistic odds-ratios were calculated for positive vs. zero expenditure on alcohol products for all households in each of the samples, and those ratios were compared across samples. Results: In both samples, a number of household structure and economic variables are risk factors for the purchase of positive quantities of alcohol. However, the risk associated with some of the household structure and economic variables increases for certain alcoholic beverages, but decreases for other alcoholic beverages. Conclusions: Although the risk associated with most sociological data has varied from 1995 to 2000, the risk associated with various economic variables has generally increased. Therefore, the improvements in economic welfare observed in South Africa since complete suffrage in 1994 are likely to be associated with an increasing risk of alcohol consumption within South African Households.