The ARA’s mission is to reduce alcohol-related harm through combating the misuse and abuse of alcohol beverages and promoting only their responsible use.
Primary Prevention Through Education
The ARA encourages and supports research relating to the identification of biological or genetic factors, which may predispose certain individuals to alcohol addiction.
To this end the Foundation for Alcohol related Research (FARR) was established in August 1996 with a substantial grant from the ARA.
The ARA continues to fund FARR’s administrative costs, a post-graduate research fellowship and a training facility. FARR’s mission is to facilitate scientific research on alcohol related issues. It hopes to identify factors that pre-dispose one to alcohol-related harm and have in place preventative programmes to reduce such harm.
Since its establishment FARR has hosted several visits of the delegations from the National Institute on Alcohol Addiction and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA. These interactions have resulted in the identification of several research projects on which the NIAAA and the CDC are collaborating with FARR.
Other collaborating and funding organisations are the Medical Research Council (MRC) in South Africa, the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) formerly the S A Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR) and the national and some provincial departments of health.
Three “safe houses” have been established by FARR in the towns of De Aar, Ashton and Upington, where women are taught the dangers of drinking excessively when pregnant. The ARA also supports other initiatives to improve the development and efficacy of prevention programmes.
Its support for the Sensible Drinking Project in the Western Cape trauma units and the awareness campaign with the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism are examples of such support.
Other support has involved the development, and facilitation, of numerous projects and programmes aimed at the prevention of alcohol-related problems. Important among these has been a comprehensive lifestyle education programme which was developed by the Horizon Lifestyle Education Project and delivered to some 100 000 learners annually.
Through the International Centre for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) in Washington, the ARA has also co-operated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the development of lifestyle education programmes and has funded the further development of these programmes for lower grades in cooperation with the Institute for Health Training Development.
Individual member companies also run public awareness campaigns in the mass media. The SAB’s “Think before you drink before you drive”, and “Draw the line campaigns” are such examples, as is the Brandhouse “Number 1 taxi driver” project. These campaigns and projects enjoy the endorsement of the Department of Transport and have been run in support of the Department’s Arrive Alive campaign.