This policy brief examines the alcohol consumption policies of the National
Department of Health’s approach to alcohol use in South Africa. In particular, it focuses on the food-based dietary guideline (FBDG) on alcohol promulgated by the Department of Health in 2001: ‘If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly.’ This guideline was re-evaluated in 2011 and the revised FBDG recommended that there should be no alcohol guidelines at all.