The case for prohibition

It is a carcinogenic agent, proven beyond doubt to cause cancer. Based on that evidence, the only curiosity is why the various tobacco products are not banned entirely. The usual arguments around sending tobacco users underground into the same clandestine world as class A drug users were trotted out, as well as the daft notion that people have the right to harm themselves if they so wish. These arguments do not stand up to any cursory, not to mention close scrutiny, but the use of tobacco continues to place a major burden on our health services. So, we all pay, through our taxes or foregone benefits, for the casual health risks taken by others.
The arguments for curbing the use of alcohol are, however, not as publicised, nor are they as accepted, as those associated with tobacco use. A large cohort of the population believes that moderate alcohol use is harmless, and that there is little evidence to prove otherwise – despite the World Health Organization clearly stating that this is not the case. 

Hypocrisy

Regardless, the fact that our Government is considering placing health warnings on alcohol products for consumption in this country reeks of hypocrisy, as if we didn’t already have a surfeit of that particular commodity already. This piece of nanny-state legislation has been postponed until 2029 – a clear case of kicking the (beer) can down the road. We are significant exporters of alcoholic products. Last year alcoholic drink exports totalled €2.1bn. There is no suggestion that health warning labels would be stuck onto alcoholic products for export. Think about that for a moment. The proposed/postponed legislation on labelling alcoholic products is an assertion that alcohol consumption is unhealthy in the extreme. While our legislators are committed to saving Irish imbibers from themselves, we are, apparently, quite happy to sell the same products to others without any health warnings whatsoever. Apparently, this puritan zeal to save us from ourselves cannot be allowed to interfere with commerce and profit. We appear to have decided that, if what we are selling is unhealthy, then it is for the purchasers in other countries to decide on that for themselves. We clearly have no responsibility to highlight the perceived health risks from consuming Irish whiskey and other alcohol-rich drinks which we sell to foreign consumers. The same case could probably be made for drug dealers, if we were to take the argument to its illogical conclusion. 

Consumption falling

The movement towards either partial or total alcohol prohibition in Ireland comes at a time when alcohol consumption is falling. It has not been determined whether price, health fears or alternative product choices are driving this consumption decrease. There is a suggestion that cocaine is now the social lubricant of choice for many Irish demographics. That being the case, our efforts to influence the consumption of alcohol use are even more misguided. It’s not an argument the anti-alcohol zealots will entertain but the legislation towards near-criminalising alcohol use could usher in the Law of Unintended Consequences. We already know that cocaine use is endemic in Irish society. Many otherwise law-abiding citizens see no connection between cocaine use, wider drug abuse, gangland violence and the health and policing costs to Irish society, generally. Use and abuse are two distinct entities. Are health warnings on alcohol products really the best solution to misuse of, and overuse of alcohol?