Alcohol, the drug of choice

There is much talk in the news today about the idea of raising the price of alcohol to a minimum of 50p per unit (around$0.70). That would make the average can of 5% beer (which contains 2.2units) cost £1.10 ($1.54), quite a bit more than it would be today for a mid range product.

The purpose of the increase is to reduce alcohol consumption, which has doubled since the 1960s (more information here) to around 11.5 litres per person, per year.

It might be useful to look at some of the changes that affected that increased consumption apart from the price. In my youth (I am a man in my mid 40s) there was very little in the way of Off-Licence (i.e. not being served in a bar) outlets. If you wanted to have a drink you either bought the booze from a shop during the day (remember that they closed at 5pm) or you went to the off sales counter in the pub.

Put simply, supply was much more restricted than it is today. Since a greater proportion of the sales went through pub, Landlords were more directly in control of who that alcohol was served to. This had the effect of controlling under-age drinking reasonably well.

The demand was always there, it was the supply that was restricted.

Today we have a vast supply capability, the demand is the same (or greater) as it ever was but the social controls have all but disappeared. Those pubs still in business are often much larger (the Wetherspoons mega pub model) and run by bar staff rather than a Landlord. So the control over who is buying and drinking is much reduced.

Virtually every small shop has an alcohol licence and they have a living to make. Can you remember how much media noise there was about garages selling wine and beer and how normal that is today? Youngsters will often persuade an adult stranger to buy booze on their behalf in exchange for cash or a can. The ability to control the supply has gone. All this without even beginning to consider the impact of the famed 24 drinking licence that was supposed to deliver cafe culture and instead started the Friday night ruck culture.

The Chief Medical Officer may be right, price may be the only way to reduce overall consumption but it will not stop the demand for drugs that make living in this society more tolerable than it is today. We seem to live in a world where each of us is pushed to deliver ever more and are coping with that less and less well. If it is not alcohol, it may tum out to be Prozac or weed instead.

Alcohol misuse is a societal problem that shows up as an individuals response to intolerable pressure. In the end there has to be a recognition that our society structures need to change to make life better. That sounds like a job for a clear thinking politician and they seem to be in very short supply.