Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa

South Africa has used intermittent alcohol prohibitions and restrictions as a strategy to relieve hospitals of alcohol-related trauma cases and spare services for COVID-19 caseloads. Alcohol regulation is highly contested and involves a diverse range of actors who influence policies to align with th...

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Autores principales:	Yandisa Ngqangashe, Maddie Heenan, Melanie Pescud
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	alcohol regulation prohibition COVID-19 industry government Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d4070413063a4174a72c22d879f2f6ab
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d4070413063a4174a72c22d879f2f6ab2021-11-11T16:37:10ZRegulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa10.3390/ijerph1821114941660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/d4070413063a4174a72c22d879f2f6ab2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11494https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601South Africa has used intermittent alcohol prohibitions and restrictions as a strategy to relieve hospitals of alcohol-related trauma cases and spare services for COVID-19 caseloads. Alcohol regulation is highly contested and involves a diverse range of actors who influence policies to align with their interests. This study sought to examine the strategies used by these actors to shape the COVID-19 related alcohol regulation in South Africa as presented by online news media. We found that the voice of pro-regulation actors is smaller and fragmented compared to opponents of the regulation as each actor seeks to advance their own interests. Despite the regulations initially being framed as a COVID-19 public health measure, pro-regulation government ministries, such as police and transport, perceive the regulations as a way of reducing existing (pre-pandemic) alcohol-related harm, such as crime, road-traffic injuries, and gender-based violence. The pre-existing failures in the alcohol regulatory environment and the current policy momentum created by COVID-19 could present an opportunity to retain components of the new laws and improve alcohol regulation in South Africa. However, there is a dominant and cohesive alcohol industry voice that strongly opposes the regulations, citing economic impacts, illicit trade and lack of evidence on the positive effects of the alcohol bans. Strategies employed by industry include lobbying, framing, and litigation. The regulations implemented under the guise of COVID-19 prevention have presented valuable lessons for alcohol regulation more generally. However, whether these regulations translate to sustainable policy changes will depend upon how and if the strong industry voice is countered.Yandisa NgqangasheMaddie HeenanMelanie PescudMDPI AGarticlealcohol regulationprohibitionCOVID-19industrygovernmentMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11494, p 11494 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	alcohol regulation prohibition COVID-19 industry government Medicine R
spellingShingle	alcohol regulation prohibition COVID-19 industry government Medicine R Yandisa Ngqangashe Maddie Heenan Melanie Pescud Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
description	South Africa has used intermittent alcohol prohibitions and restrictions as a strategy to relieve hospitals of alcohol-related trauma cases and spare services for COVID-19 caseloads. Alcohol regulation is highly contested and involves a diverse range of actors who influence policies to align with their interests. This study sought to examine the strategies used by these actors to shape the COVID-19 related alcohol regulation in South Africa as presented by online news media. We found that the voice of pro-regulation actors is smaller and fragmented compared to opponents of the regulation as each actor seeks to advance their own interests. Despite the regulations initially being framed as a COVID-19 public health measure, pro-regulation government ministries, such as police and transport, perceive the regulations as a way of reducing existing (pre-pandemic) alcohol-related harm, such as crime, road-traffic injuries, and gender-based violence. The pre-existing failures in the alcohol regulatory environment and the current policy momentum created by COVID-19 could present an opportunity to retain components of the new laws and improve alcohol regulation in South Africa. However, there is a dominant and cohesive alcohol industry voice that strongly opposes the regulations, citing economic impacts, illicit trade and lack of evidence on the positive effects of the alcohol bans. Strategies employed by industry include lobbying, framing, and litigation. The regulations implemented under the guise of COVID-19 prevention have presented valuable lessons for alcohol regulation more generally. However, whether these regulations translate to sustainable policy changes will depend upon how and if the strong industry voice is countered.
format	article
author	Yandisa Ngqangashe Maddie Heenan Melanie Pescud
author_facet	Yandisa Ngqangashe Maddie Heenan Melanie Pescud
author_sort	Yandisa Ngqangashe
title	Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
title_short	Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
title_full	Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
title_fullStr	Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa
title_sort	regulating alcohol: strategies used by actors to influence covid-19 related alcohol bans in south africa
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/d4070413063a4174a72c22d879f2f6ab
work_keys_str_mv	AT yandisangqangashe regulatingalcoholstrategiesusedbyactorstoinfluencecovid19relatedalcoholbansinsouthafrica AT maddieheenan regulatingalcoholstrategiesusedbyactorstoinfluencecovid19relatedalcoholbansinsouthafrica AT melaniepescud regulatingalcoholstrategiesusedbyactorstoinfluencecovid19relatedalcoholbansinsouthafrica
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Regulating Alcohol: Strategies Used by Actors to Influence COVID-19 Related Alcohol Bans in South Africa

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