So why is it still legal? Where are the increased restrictions on sales? Why can they still advertise? Why can they still sponsor sports and events?
When will be saved from ourselves?!!!!!

How much tax does alcohol raise?

let me have a couple or three beers and think about this ...

I think the US tried to Ban this - and look what happened

While politicians can try and force their moral ideas on us to an extent if you go to far ahead of what is generally accepted you have the problem that the populas will ignore it and if they ignore that rule they will star ignoring other

A solution to the drunk crime issues in town centres would be to massively fine people for being drunk in public and massive fine pubs for serving people who are already drunk...... In fact throw them out so their sober friends can't buy them more booze.

Too drunk to walk or so drunk you vomit? That'll be £200 in cash or atuomaticalls knocked of you benifits.
Price the behaviour out of the guilty, not thouse who drink responsibly.

Yeah, but how well it that enforced?..... Oh, wait, it pretty much isn't.
They seriously need to up the scale of enforcement.

I am a light drinker but I am not in favour of banning it. Actually a little alcohol can be beneficial for you. As has been pointed out the US tried this and it accelerated organised crime. Tax it and penalise those that abuse it. That is all you can do. I would refuse to accept that alcohol addiction is a sickness and entitles the person to incapacity benefit. Cut their ability to fund their habit.

I'm not actually sure they could ban it even if they wanted to. Wouldn't it be against the European Union freedom of trade specifications? Imagine all the French, Spanish and Italian wine producers taking UKGov to court over loss of earnings. Let alone the entire Scottish whisky industry being put out of work overnight. There's not a lot else to do for a living in some of the places they make single malts...

Jon

Hmm interesting that - although one could tax it to excess (£1000 minimum tax / unit) and so long as you taxed all alchohol evenly then they could not claim any discrimination. If you did not make production for export illegal then the whisky trade would not be totally decimated as Im sure they export a good percentage of thier product

However very difficult to ban (just look at any Dry country) as all I need if I want it is

Grape Juice
Yeast
Sugar

to make some "wine" - thats the problem its really easy to make

I have some pears fermenting away as we speak. Even yeast and sugar you can do without; proper wine and cider relies on the natural fruit sugars, and yeast occurs naturally in fruit blooms. If you've ever seen a wasp get drunk from rotten fruit, you'll know the fermentation process works fine without specialised added ingredients.

Dihydrogen Monoxide is more readily available and kills more people every year than alcohol.

And indeed in the air around us, isn't that how one makes sour dough?

Beer is easy too, though I guess most people don't have a need for malted barley grain unless they are brewing...

It is one of those dodgy chemicals where abstinence is fatal as is excessive use. It does bugger up whiskey.

It will never happen, ever.

Trading Standards just doesn't have the manpower, and they have bigger things on their plate - things consumers/rate payers actually care about.

Oh, and the government that tried to enforce it would be out on its collective arse too.



If they really wanted to they could use the public health exemption, but they would need the permission of the European Commission anyway.