To think that alcohol should also be banned for anyone born after 2008?

[OonaStubbs]

Alcohol causes just as much, if not more harm to society as tobacco does. IMO it should be banned as well. Any possibly junk food as well?

Murderous cats.....?!

I was in A&E in January and there were no obvious drunks. Mostly older people. Admittedly I was seen quickly and moved onto a ward (yes, it happens).

According to Drinkware it's the 55-74 age range onwards who are the high alcohol consumers so post 2008 doesn't really fly.

Education is the way to go along with a change in culture, you can't do anything in the UK without booze from advertising onwards.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in people smoking actual cigarettes recently? A few years ago you only saw vapes, but at a social event last weekend the young smokers were all cigarette in hand…maybe a status symbol these days at, what, £20 a packet? Must be close they were a tenner in my distant youth!

It doesn't matter if I've had it, personally, or not.

I know people who have and NO one ever gets a definitive cause. You know why? Because there isn't one. So, to ban alcohol on the basis of it causing cancer is silly and just used as an excuse or fear based reaction which is not based on reality.

I'm very sorry you have cancer. It is my greatest fear to the point that I have been debilitated by it.

However, we are not told the truth of what actually causes cancer or science genuinely doesn't know. So, we can't ban living based on fear.

My job is killing me. Can we ban work too please?

Reverse Brexit. Send everyone regularly to France / the Mediterranean, not on holiday, but expressly on courses designed to reeducate us in responsible drinking and good taste. The problem is British drinking habits, not alcohol.

That would be a service to the nation, and better than National Service.

I think that may be due to the health scares around vaping - smoking is a "known quantity" risk, also I find most people who smoke roll their own, so a pouch of cheaper tobacco at around 25 quid can be eked out for a week. Tailor mades are too expensive for regular consumption.

I'm also interested in how much of smokung is physical addiction and how much a soother, and why we feel we "need" soothers - or stimulants - even when we know the detrimental effects.

Can you hear my eyes roll from where you are?

The french side of my family, through marriage, are predominantly alcoholics of varying degrees. Some were alcohol dependent. France is not a good yardstick.

I think don’t ban alcohol, but make the punishment for anti-social behaviour much more stringent. I was a Magistrate and I would say 95% of all violent offences, from affray to murder involved alcohol. Frequently used as a mitigating factor by the offender, it’s actually an aggravating factor to any crime and uplifts any sentence already. I think the penalties should be much more severe, particularly for repeat offenders. Can you imagine how many police hours are wasted on drunken idiots?

Indeed. It’s a wonder I am still alive despite the best efforts of my velcro-spaniels (have been knocked off the top step and consequently broken my foot trying stay upright, though). We have to manage them when my elderly In-laws are in the house precisely to reduce the risk of any dog related falls.

All that happens if you ban alcohol is that people will start making their own which can have much more severe consequences - ask the South Africans from lockdown with pineapple beer that caused alcohol poisoning etc.

Even in countries which are zero alcohol it can be purchased!

Far better to educate about healthy consumption then ban! And yes a glass of red wine can be good for you in moderation.

Also ban sugar, gambling, sunbathing ?

Yes, ban everything that is dangerous to a person’s health.
YANBU to connect the two.
It’s ridiculous to ban something like smoking for a group of young people, when A. Most born in 2098 onwards don’t smoke cigarettes and B. They’ve allowed the nicotine industry hook millions of young people all over the world, using colourful packaging and fruity flavours to entice teenagers into an addiction through vaping.
I have been through recovery in NA. Nicotine is highly addictive and often last to leave behind.
On one hand society wants to legalise drugs while the other is putting in stupid restrictions that are too little too late.
It amazes me the vast amount of new nicotine products available.
Snuff is returning.

What good would a ban do ? Cannabis is banned but yet is used by so many people. Youngsters use it for their anxiety, joint in one hand and a tin of Monster in the other!

Not my family's experience. Sorry it's yours.

France could liberate us and take their land back. I would be fine with that.

I knew people would start saying this once I first heard about the smoking law.

Why don’t you just move to North Korea OP, if you want to live in a country in which the government decides exactly what you are allowed to do, and when you are allowed to do it, and punishes you for breaking their authoritarian rules?

This country is already suffocating and controlling enough with its laws and regulations, I despair of people like you who want every little pleasure in life regulated and banned. And I say that as a non smoker and a very light drinker.

Government should only exist to facilitate those services, organisations and infrastructure that need to be organised on a collective scale, not interfere in every aspect of our lives.

I think alcohol destroys lives - when it’s not used responsibly. But , I personally enjoy a glass of wine or two and have no dependency issues so why can’t I have that ? The focus doesn’t need to be on banning it but maybe the marketing.

The problem is society’s view . That you need alcohol to have a good time , that being blackout drunk and drinking all night on the weekend is the only way to have fun. Offers on pitchers and shots in clubs- like you have to have as much as possible ?!

I don’t know how to tackle that , but I don’t think a ban is the answer .

I think they should be banned 🚫

I stopped drinking alcohol about 7 years ago now - by choice - my choice.

So no I would not agree with removing that choice from adults.

I am 38, but my family from age 30 down seem to have a far better attitude to alcohol. When I was a teenager socialising was very heavily focused on alcohol, that seems to be changing.

I think a lot of people - including me until recently enough - did not see that even moderate alcohol consumption increases your chances a lot of the main forms of cancer. It is a group 1 carcinogenic. We all know smoking is harmful but people still do it, which IMO is fine, but many stopped and later generations smoke far less due to understanding.

We live in a society where drinking is so normal, where it is often expected, where until recently if you aren't drinking you are the 'weird' one. Where if you get stupid drunk it is 'ok'. If I threw up after drinking too much apple juice I would probably limit how much apple juice a drank

The biggest issue I see on a night out, is when some -men- get too drunk and aggressive behaviour comes out. That is totally unacceptable in any society. Of course women get aggressive too, but usually in a less violent way.

Alcohol is successfully banned in Saudi Arabia though

I don't think banning alcohol would work. Tobacco doesn't really give a buzz like alcohol and smoking is on the way out anyway, I rarely see people smoking these days. Young people are going to seek out something that does give them a buzz. Ban alcohol and it will end up on the illegal market with all the other drugs. People will end up at a much higher risk of harm because they will be accessing unregulated products.

You can't buy it but plenty of it is made and drank by Saudi's.

@Happypomegranates it's interesting you say about marketing. I recently listened to 'this naked mind' on audible.

She says that for all things we are sold the 'products, products, produce'

So with alcohol. They sell, sitting in a pub with friends or being fun

Alcohol - makes you social - you get to be the sexy woman having a cocktail with friends after work. Same with toothpaste - they sell the nice white smile which makes you more attractive. Not really the toothpaste.

My daughter is 2009 so nope, I don’t think the 2008 cut off would work for her without warning!

She would be the only one at a family meal not allowed to order drinks or go clubbing with her friends who are just a few months older, for example.

Changes like this need to be announced ahead of time so the children can know from starting secondary school that the ban is in place when they become adults.