Latest news with #Rideout
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
How you could be drinking counterfeit alcohol without knowing
A recent study has shown the illicit alcohol trade has increased by 55%, costing the South Africa roughly R25 billion in lost tax revenue. Illicit alcohol traders are making a fortune selling knock-off liquor to unsuspecting and desperate patrons. Euromonitor International, in partnership with Drinks Federation South Africa (DFSA), this week revealed the runaway popularity of the illicit alcohol trade. Between traders prioritising profits and consumers choosing cheaper options, the country is missing out on just over R10 billion, excluding Value-Added Tax (VAT), on untaxed spirits alone. Almost 20% of all alcohol Euromonitor's most recent study, conducted over the last six months, was presented to industry leaders virtually on Wednesday. To gauge how illicit alcohol was distributed and consumed, the global research firm surveyed the product's prevalence in retail and independent traders, as well as the habits and preferences of consumers. Through desk research, store visits and surveys across multiple geographic and income demographics, Euromonitor illustrated how the illicit trade makes up 18% of the country's overall alcohol market. This 18% amounts to the consumption of 773000 hectolitres — or 77 million litres a year— with an estimated price tag of R25 billion. 'This is largely driven by counterfeit and illicit brands. This is because counterfeiting and illicit brands target premium spirits such as whiskey, as well as premium vodkas and gins,' stated Euromonitor International Project Manager Benjamin Rideout. This translated into R16.5 billion in lost tax revenue, with South Africans' preference for white and dark spirits contributing to roughly R10 billion of the tax shortfall. 'If these drinks were taxed correctly and sold legitimately, this is what the tax value would be,' explained Rideout. Increasing fiscal loss Euromonitor stated that illicit traders were purchasing and manufacturing counterfeit labelling and packaging at an 'industrial scale'. While the main driver of lost tax revenue was counterfeit and illicit brands, which are replica and unbranded products, smuggling and tax leakage were the next highest causes. Smuggling of legitimate products is done via land, air or sea, while tax leakage was classified as compliant liquor that is intentionally misclassified or underdeclared. Having conducted the same study in 2017 and 2020, Rideout said the illicit alcohol trade in South Africa had grown in volume consumed by 55% in the last seven years. 'It has almost doubled in value terms, which is a function of inflation in general. Finally, the fiscal loss has increased by 157%,' Rideout said illicit alcohol was predominant in informal channels, but there was a growing trend of availability in retail and online sales. 'What this means is that the illicit market has established a distribution network, and we know this to be the case, particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. 'On average, illegal alcohol is 37% cheaper than legal alcohol per litre. In some cases, this discount can go as high as 70%, depending on the category and the brand,' he stated. 'Crime against the state' Euromonitor noted that the financial benefits to traders and buyers were given greater consideration than the potential health risks considered by either party. Convenor of the National Liquor Traders Council Lucky Ntimane said it was an outlets' responsibility to ensure they maintained high standards or risk ruining their reputations. 'We also know the catch of illicit alcohol is the price, so people don't really ask a lot of questions. The essence of illicit and counterfeit alcohol is that it is cheaper. 'However, a person who sells counterfeit, knowingly or unknowingly, they run the risk of their business not being supported,' Ntimane told The Citizen. Traders caught selling illicit alcohol can be subject to a fine of up to R500 000 or between one and three years in prison, depending on the volumes sold. Rideout stated that policing challenges included 'resource allocation and state capacity,' while Ntimane suggested a firmer hand needed to be taken with illegal traders. 'Because illicit and counterfeit alcohol robs the state of an income, maybe it should be classified as a crime against the state. In that way, the government can clamp down hard on these unscrupulous dealers, but also harsher sentences can be meted out,' concluded Ntimane. NOW READ: Budget speech: Here's how much more you'll have to pay for alcohol and cigarettes
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Muskoka's most unlikely art canvas? Bear-proof garbage bins turned into fundraising masterpieces
Are Muskoka's bear-proof garbage bins doomed to stay rusty, green, and overlooked at the ends of driveways? Not if artist Kimberly Rideout has anything to say about it. She's transforming these everyday 'eyesores' into creative works of art — and using her talent to support a cause close to her heart. By creating custom artwork on bear bins and donating $100 from each commissioned piece, Rideout is raising funds for renovations at The Door Youth Centre in Huntsville , a place where teens find safety, connection, and community. 'My hope is to elevate philanthropy all around the community, in any way I can,' Rideout said. With a degree in art and art history from McMaster University, and more than 30 years of experience painting murals, she has contributed to many local causes. She's donated murals to Andy's House, the Pines Long-Term Care Home , and the Alzheimer Society Of Muskoka. When she learned about The Door's need for renovations, she knew she could offer help. 'It's a wonderful cause and it's a much-needed renovation,' Rideout said. Marcy Hill, the community director of The Door, explained the centre's mission: to provide all kids with a safe place where they can belong and feel welcomed. 'Marcy Hill is just a phenomenal catalyst for the youth in Huntsville, and she is honestly just so inspiring,' Rideout said. 'You can't be in her presence and not be compelled to do something to help.' Hill expressed her gratitude for donors and community participants like Rideout, whose contributions are essential to keeping the centre operational. 'Absolutely every donation counts,' Hill said. 'Every single cent … keeps our doors open.' The art commissions and donations are part of a broader effort to renovate and expand The Door's basement space. 'The amount of space we have in the basement would allow us to double what we do,' Hill said. 'We need to get this done.' Youth at The Door are becoming involved in the renovation processes, helping contractors and gaining valuable skills. The Door also engages kids in volunteer work to help them earn community service hours for school or restorative purposes. 'A lot of people have opinions about the kids,' Hill said. 'They see them out on the streets, but I keep saying to everyone, 'They're only out there because there's nowhere else to be.' You may see them under a bridge and hanging out by the river and up to no good because … they're teenagers. But give them a space — and they fill it.' This is exactly the purpose The Door serves. Up to 150 youth receive a free lunch at the centre every Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday and Friday nights, about 40 kids return for dinner, followed by social activities like playing pool and Just Dance sessions. It's a place where young people can connect and be themselves, Hill said. One of the challenges rural youth face is distance and transportation to extracurricular activities, sports, and social events. 'Our kids are getting stuck left in a basement on a video game, or are disconnected,' Hill said. In a world where so much communication happens online, Hill said many youth are missing out on real, face-to-face connection. At The Door, they have the chance to build genuine friendships, feel seen and heard, and know there's always someone they can turn to. If more serious challenges arise — mental health, addiction, or other issues — staff and volunteers are connected with local support services to guide youth to the right resources. Funding for The Door mainly comes from the community through monthly donations, one-time gifts, and fundraising events. The renovation project is estimated to cost $175,000, with just over $40,000 raised so far. To get involved or donate, contact Marcy Hill at 705-380-6015 . For bear bin art commissions, reach out to Kimberly Rideout at 647-898-9278 . Megan Hederson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Huntsville and Lake of Bays for . The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
BBC News
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Stoke-on-Trent: New play explores modern prisons and justice
A new play by an arts organisation that works with prisoners and staff in UK prisons will explore society's relationship to Acts is set in a fictional prison and will ask audiences in Stoke-on-Trent to reflect on their beliefs about punishment and consider whether there are other ways to achieve will be performed at B arts at their site in Hartshill Road from 9 to 17 April. The cast includes a mix of professional actors, people who will be making their first stage appearance and some who have previously been in play was made by prison arts specialists Rideout, along with B arts and members of community interest company Expert Citizens. Drawing on ideas discussed by French philosopher Michel Foucault in his work Discipline and Punish, the play explores the development of the modern director Saul Hewish, who is also a teaching fellow in theatre at the University of Warwick, is a leading practitioner in using drama and theatre with Hewish said: "I have worked using drama and theatre in prisons for nearly 40 years, and the system is in as worse a state that I have ever seen it. "This play sets out to get audiences to think about punishment and how we use it. Is prison always the answer, or might there be other ways to help victims achieve 'justice'?"He added: "We have been making the play with people who have lived experience of multiple disadvantage, including custody, some of whom have never done drama before. Their ideas have very much informed the content of the play." Rideout has also been working with the Men Who Make Things group, run by B arts. Members have helped to build the set and a mini-museum of instruments of punishment, which audience members can see before and after the show. Men Who Make Things is a group for men who have experience of poor mental play is co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England. It is part of a wider research programme called Staging Justice led by Dr Sarah Bartley from London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers race to cure 'Newfoundland curse,' which can kill without warning
ST. JOHN'S — Terry Rideout says he was loading up his fishing gear the first time a tiny implant in his chest sent bolts of electricity into his heart and shocked it back into its regular rhythm. The force was enough to knock him backward into his shed, he said. "It felt like my chest was just blown apart," Rideout said in a telephone interview from his home in Newtown, a small fishing community along Newfoundland's northeast coast. Rideout has arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, or ARVC, a heart condition caused by a small mutation in his genetic code that leads to sudden, irregular heartbeats that can kill him without much warning. The disease affects clusters of families in certain parts of Newfoundland, and it has come to be known as the "Newfoundland curse." The defibrillator implant that threw Rideout into his shed two decades ago is the best known way to ward it off. But Jessica Esseltine, a biomedical scientist at Memorial University, is hoping to change that by using heart tissue grown in a petri dish to stop the disease before an implant is needed. "We're trying to figure out how this single gene change, this seemingly very small spelling mistake, can cause such huge changes in a heart cell," the assistant professor said in a recent interview. "The hope is, at some point, we will be able to offer a cure." Genes are sections of DNA, which is made up of combinations of four different molecules. ARVC is caused by a single swap of those molecules in one gene — a "spelling mistake," as Esseltine called it. Kathleen Hodgkinson was part of a team of geneticists who, in 2008, first identified the gene at the root of the problem and then developed a method to test for it. Hodgkinson has found the gene in about 28 Newfoundland families, including the Rideouts, as well as in families in northern Germany, Denmark, Norway and Russia. All those families have genetic ties to the Newfoundland families, she said. "When I first started, families were so frightened," the Memorial University professor said in a recent interview. They told her stories about young, healthy relatives going to the hospital with heart palpitations, testing normally, and then dying — seemingly for no reason. "Being able to test people and put in the (defibrillator implant) has changed things enormously … but it doesn't stop the disease in its tracks. It doesn't cure it," she said. Rideout has to go to the hospital, often by ambulance, every time his defibrillator goes off, which is expensive. He also loses his license for six months each time it goes off, as a safety precaution. And the disease is wearing down his heart. He got the gene from his mother, who passed it down to all three of her sons, said Norma Rideout, Terry's wife. The condition killed Fred Rideout, Terry's brother, when he was 45 years old. Norma was driving him to the hospital when he died, she said. "It's always in the back of your mind," she said. "I'm just glad our kids don't have it." Esseltine said sometimes the condition can degrade a patient's heart so dramatically they require a heart transplant. She takes blood or skin samples from ARVC patients and turns them into stem cells, which she grows as heart cells. Then, she uses a gene editing technique to repair the "spelling mistake" in the faulty gene in the heart cells. "We're doing all of that in a petri dish right now," she said. "But, of course, the hope would be one day that we could either treat the patient's heart with stem cells from their own skin, or we can use genetic engineering … to repair the mutation in their hearts." Working with families like the Rideouts brings a meaning and fulfilment to her work she hadn't experienced before, Esseltine said. "It makes me want to do better, to move the research forward," she said. "Because I see the real lives that it could possibly change if I do a good job." Terry Rideout, now 55, said Esseltine's work may have started too late to help his condition. "But for the younger generation," he said, "it's going to be life-changing for them." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2025. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
