African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies, 18(1), 2019
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African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies, 18(1), 2019 Copyright © 2019, CRISA Publications MANUFACTURING HOMEMADE ALCOHOL IN THE CITY OF TSHWANE, SOUTH AFRICA Mukhethwa Londani1* Neo K Morojele1,2,3 Elmarie Nel1 Charles DH Parry4,5 1Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa; 2School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; 3School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa; 4Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; 5Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the prevalence of home-based manufacturing of alcoholic beverages in townships/peri-urban households and to examine whether certain characteristics (such as household, demographics and drinking behaviour of participants who reported brewing of alcohol in their homes) predicted home brewing of alcohol. The study utilized data from South African arm of International Alcohol Control study conducted in the city of Tshwane. A household survey used multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling. Homemade alcohol was defined as participants who reported home-based alcohol brewing at their homes. Stata Version 14.0 was used for analyses. Nine percent of the sample reported brewing of alcohol in their households. Race, employment of the main income earners and number of eligible members in the household have predicted home- based alcohol brewing. The study raised important questions about the prevalence of home brewing of alcohol in the city of Tshwane as it might be a common practice in other cities. Keywords: Homemade alcohol, alcohol brewing, South Africa INTRODUCTION François Lyumugabe, Gros, Nzungize, Ba- jyana, & Thonart, 2012; Simatende, Gada- Brewing and consumption of alcohol ga, Nkambule, & Siwela, 2015). As part of in Southern Africa started during the traditional cultural practices alcohol has pre-colonial period, long before the ar- been used to celebrate military victories, rival of European settlers (Gumede, 1995; to show hospitality, for joy and pleasure, Corresponding Author: Mukhethwa Londani, Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Private Bag X385, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa. E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: +27-12-339-8537. LONDANI, MOROJELE, NEL & PARRY to commemorate the dead, to celebrate Homemade alcohol is mostly harmful, births, and to “seal” a business deal (Bo- especially in areas where brewers are in- brova, 2012). Currently it is difficult to experienced and use harmful ingredients imagine any special occasion without when manufacturing. Reports about ill- consumption of alcohol in South Africa. nesses caused by home-brewed alcohol Almost every South African ethnic have been published in many countries. group has found a way to manufacture In some instances, home-brewed alco- alcohol. The type of alcohol brewed for hol caused liver damage, feeling unwell, consumption during cultural and tradi- vomiting, blindness and even death. The tional activities is mostly African tradi- harmful effects of consuming home- tional beer known as “Umqombothi”. This brewed alcohol fall more on the power- beer is often brewed using locally grown less sectors of society as well as older foods such as maize, sorghum and yeast, members of society who tend to be more and it takes about four to 14 days to man- likely to consume such products (Collins, ufacture (Manganyi, 2015; Setlalentoa, 2013; Dadpour, Bagheri-Moghaddam, R., Pisa, Thekisho, Ryke, & Loots Du, 2010). Arabi, & Tamijani, 2016; Radaev, 2015), The level of potent in traditional beer and in South Africa among Black Afri- depends on fermentation period and no cans (Laher, Goldstein, Wells, Dufourq, & one knows level of absolute alcohol it has Moodley, 2013). (Madlala, 2016). Also,lack of monitoring The World Health Organization esti- during fermentation process could lead mated that a quarter of all alcohol con- to alcohol being contaminated (Morris, sumed globally is unrecorded, and man- Levine, Goodridge, Luo, & Ashley, 2006). ufactured or sold without government The World Health Organisation (WHO) as control (Makhubele, 2012; WHO, 2004, well has asserted that the tools used for 2014a). In 2014 the World Health Assem- preparing home-brewed alcohol are often bly approved the WHO Global Strategy to not sterilised (Pitso, 2007; WHO, 2004). Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (WHO, Homemade distilling of alcohol for sale 2014b). Among the strategies proposed without a license is unlawful in South Af- was reducing the public health impact of rica. However, many who carry out this illegal alcohol and informally produced activity ignore these regulations to pro- alcohol. The long-term plan includes; to vide for themselves and their families in legalize unrecorded alcohol, with subse- a context where jobs in the formal sec- quent quality control and to instruct the tor are scarce. Manufacturing alcohol for producers of unrecorded alcohol on how sale is therefore mostly carried out by to avoid the problems arising from manu- poor, disadvantaged people (Makhubele, facturing (WHO, 2010). 2012). Consumers of home-brewed alco- In many South African rural areas, hol, on the other hand, purchase it as an women who are aged between 20 to alternative to buying expensive alcohol or 51 and more, have been found to be sometimes due to personal preference. the manufacturers of homemade alco- The price difference between commer- hol (Manganyi, 2015). Homemade alco- cially manufactured, branded alcohol and hol is produced in needy rural villages homemade alcohol is often substantial and homes, prompting researchers to (Fieldgate et al., 2013). conclude that most manufacturers are 44 HOMEMADE ALCOHOL illiterate and without formal education within selected EAs. From the selected (Manganyi, 2015). Mostly, studies have households, we randomly selected one focused on the use of homemade alcohol adult. Eligible, participants had to have in rural areas of South Africa (Manganyi, consumed alcohol in the past 6 months 2015; Onya, Tessera, Myers, & Flisher, and be 18 to 65 years old. When no par- 2012; WHO, 2010), while such practices ticipants were available at the randomly in townships and peri-urban and urban selected households, the households areas have received less attention. Un- were replaced with the next available recorded and non-commercial alcohol, one. The target sample size of adults was however, remains a concern that needs determined by the IAC study (Casswell et special attention because of large number al., 2012). The overall response rate was of the population believed to consume 78% (Parry, Trangenstein, Lombard, Jerni- such alcohol, and the harms associated gan, & Morojele, 2018). with the use of such products that sur- face periodically (Platt, 1955). The pur- Measures pose of this study was to determine the The IAC survey (Casswell et al., 2012) prevalence of home-based manufactur- was adapted for use in South Africa. The ing of alcoholic beverages in townships/ standard English IAC questionnaire was peri-urban households and to examine translated into the most commonly spo- whether certain characteristics (such as ken languages (seTswana and Afrikaans) household, demographics and drinking in the city of Tshwane (Parry et al., 2018). behaviour of participants who reported This paper used the following measures: brewing of alcohol in their homes) pre- dicted home brewing of alcohol. Home-based manufacturing of alcohol: In addition to the core questions in the IAC questionnaire, various supplementary METHOD questions about behaviours that are im- portant for South Africans were included. Sample Supplementary questions relevant to this The data used in this study is from the study was: “Do you or anyone else in your South African arm of the multi-country household manufacture/brew your/their International Alcohol Control (IAC) study own alcohol beverages?” Some items (Casswell et al., 2012). This cross-section- (such as “don’t know” or “refused to an- al study was conducted in 2014 in the swer”) were deleted. The dichotomous City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipal- variable (yes/no) was analysed. ity, located around South Africa’s execu- tive capital. The study used a multi-stage Demographics of participants who stratified cluster random sampling de- reported alcohol brewing in their homes: sign, which involved selecting communi- Demographic characteristics included: ties, i.e. wards (municipal voting districts) Gender: male or female. Age: partici- consisting of formal communities, infor- pants’ ages were categorized as ‘18-19’, mal communities, and townships; census ‘20-24’, ‘25-34’, ‘35-44’, ‘45-54’, and ‘55- enumeration areas (EAs) within select- 65’ years. Marital status: marital status in- ed communities; and then households cluded categories such as ‘never married’, 45 LONDANI, MOROJELE, NEL & PARRY ‘married’ and ‘marital status other’ (co- above average. Average container size habiting, divorced, separated, widowed). was defined as the container size closest to a standard drink (i.e., 330 ml for beer; Drinking behaviour of participants who 330 ml for low alcohol beer; 500 ml for reported alcohol brewing in their homes: home brew beer; 330 ml for stout; 150 ml Primary drinking location: The primary for wine; 30 ml for spirits; 30 ml for cock- drinking location was defined as the loca-