Tim Almond

Richard Smith writes for Comment is Free

“Evidence going back decades shows that there is a very close correlation between the amount of alcohol a society consumes and the harm it experiences. That harm might be deaths from cirrhosis, suicide, pancreatititis, cardiomyopathy, or the dozens of other medical conditions caused by alcohol or divorce, domestic violence, murder, drunken driving, absenteeism from work, or the many other social problems in which alcohol plays such an important part. As a society drinks more it experiences more of these problems, and as it drinks less they go down. These patterns have been seen repeatedly in many countries over years, even centuries in some cases.”

I’d like to see his “evidence” to support this. Drinking and driving fell in the UK, even though alcohol became more readily available. Booze is cheaper in France, but you don’t see many young people buying it. In a cafe in a provincial town, you’ll more likely see young people buying coffee (I’m informed that Italy is similar). Even though the market for alcohol is very similar in Scotland and England, Scots are more likely to have alcohol-related problems than the English.

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Tags: Politics, Fisking //