Zambian Breweries says going into the festive season, the company is determined to ensure that those who drink alcohol drink responsibly.

There has been social media frenzy after Zambian Breweries donated six breathalysers to the Road Transport and Safety Agency on Tuesday as alcohol consumers joked that the company was stabbing them in the back.

But in a statement today, Zambian Breweries explained that the donation was part of its Smart Drinking initiative aimed at stopping drink-driving.

“Entering the festive season, the company is determined to ensure that those who drink alcohol are committed to drinking responsibly and aware of the dangers of drink-driving, underage drinking and alcohol abuse,” read the statement.

And during the handover ceremony, Zambian Breweries country director Jose Moran said: “We are happy to work side by side with the government, in this case RTSA, to enforce the law on responsible drinking. At Zambian Breweries, we have taken it upon ourselves to partner with the RTSA to help educate consumers on responsible drinking.”

“We are very serious when we say – don’t drink and drive. Don’t drink and drive is one of the pillars in our smart drinking campaign, which is based on teaching our consumers, and society in general, about the harm of alcohol abuse. Now we are getting close to the holiday season, we believe it’s very important to educate the consumers of alcohol beverages to not drink and drive.”
RTSA chief executive officer and director Zindaba Soko received the breathalysers on behalf of the agency.

“We are very thankful to Zambian Breweries for giving us six breathalysers to help reinforce the anti-drinking and driving campaign, especially this coming festive season. This is a strong message to the motorist out there,” said Soko.

The firm bought 10 breathalysers in total with four being used internally to educate its employees in stopping drinking and driving.