Tavern tragedy reinforces need to give priority to tackling underage drinking in South Africa

8 July 2022

On 26 June 2022, 21 young people died at the Enyobeni tavern in East London, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The incident refocused public attention on the safety of young people in the country.

The direct cause of the 21 deaths has not yet been determined. But questions are being asked about why children under the age of 18 were consuming alcohol in the tavern.

Mysterious death of 21 teens raises debate about underage drinking in South Africa

On Wednesday, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the country is losing “future generations to the scourge of underage drinking” at a ceremony remembering 21 teenagers who died mysteriously in a tavern in South Africa last month. The youngest was just 13. While the cause of death for the teenagers remains unclear, the tragedy has sparked a debate in the country over alcohol consumption, particularly underage drinking.

A collection of the Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit's visual representations in the Media and Webinars.

The African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies is an international scientific journal published by the African Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA). The Journal publishes original research, evaluation studies, case reports, review articles and book reviews of high scholarly standards. Papers submitted for publication may address any aspect of alcohol and drug use and dependence in Africa and among people of African descent living anywhere in the world.