Globally, substance abuse is a cause of increased concern. Literatures have associated consumption of alcohol to a major contributory factor to manifest and latent violence, crime, and bodily injuries, as well as to other economic, social, in addition to the healthy harms. The World Health Organisation argued that consumption of alcohol in a way is harmful and a major cause of injuries that have resulted in about two million hundred thousand (2.5 million) deaths globally. The report also estimated that about three hundred and twenty thousand (320, 000) youths aged 15-29 years have lost their lives as a consequence of alcohol-related causes, the figure represents 9 percent the total deaths in the age group. Many of the existing studies on alcohol consumption, however, do not focus on taxi drivers drinking usage and attitude in Africa, thereby leaving a gap in knowledge ‘on the topic, thus the focus of this article.
The rate at which drug is abused in South Africa is fast becoming a huge challenge. The South Africa Police Services in a figure released recently have indicated that substance abuse accounts for about sixty (60) percent of all crimes in the country, and alcohol consumption is not exempted from the orgy. This research, therefore, was undertaken to contribute to the dialogue on alcohol consumption among Taxi drivers in Africa. It investigated the extent, usage, attitude and effect of alcohol use among drivers, in Mafikeng, Northwest Province of South Africa. The article will thus fill a gap in the literature on taxi drivers ‘alcohol usage and attitude. Taxi drivers, who despite the fact that they constitute a significant percentage of the South Africa population, local research on alcohol use among taxi drivers is limited. Parry et al.; (2004); Flisher.et.al, (2006); and Jernigan, (2006) argued that the consumption of alcohol by drivers in South Africa is of primary concern especially, the resultant manifest and latent consequences of its use. Relm et al. (2009) while joining the discourse on the global figures based on 2004 Global status report on alcohol and health, by the World Heath Organization estimated that 3.8 percent of deaths may be linked to the consumption of alcohol.
