A South African (SA) alcohol harm-reduction campaign is warning about the scale of alcohol consumption and spending in the country, particularly during the festive season.

The Rethink Your Drink campaign says that in the days leading up to New Year's Eve, South Africans were spending an estimated $60 million a day on alcohol, highlighting what it describes as a pattern of intense, short-term consumption linked to rising social harm.

The campaign says alcohol spending in SA now amounts to around $9 billion a year, raising concerns about public health, safety and the economic cost of harmful drinking. 

Thuto Ngobeni reports.