…I agree en-total with Raffaele Piccolo. He does well to point out that no one strategy works in eliminating the insidious effects of alcohol consumption on society and on the individual.

…We need another “Nicola Roxon” style politician with the guts and garters to legislate in a similar manner to the recent anti-tobacco campaign, which faced-off with the tobacco industry successfully.

…Driving Alcohol back into a tight corner is a legislative answer: It was a very successful strategy when smoking was widely accepted in public places. Finally, smoking has been relegated to the undesirable by a thankful public.

' It is not uncommon to see people drinking before going out, to unfortunately, drink some more.'

That's to avoid the higher prices. Same as kicking people out of pubs earlier, it just makes people drink faster. The law of unintended consequences.

I found in the UK with pubs closing at 11, it was an encouragement to go home, no matter how intoxicated, and get some sleep before work in the morning. They had good public transport though, which closed at 12ish, another reason to get home while it was cheaper than a taxi.

It lessened the hangover purely by ensuring more sleep...

Until, one discovers the places that serve primarily water, at the same price as beer, and turn a blind eye to ecstasy use.

Oh well, probably better for me than beer. Cant have that discussion though now can we.

People will stop drinking to excess when they are introduced to a better drug. I really don't think in this society it is possible to get by without any mind altering substances.

I believe in policing the actions of people that affect others, like violence, disturbing the peace etc, but people should be able to get off their face whenever they like. It's a human right. As long as I don't impinge on others human rights, I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to write myself off once in a while and feel all the better for it for having let off some steam.

I am a happy drunk, actually more fun to be around than when sober, so in effect I am doing the world a favor! Besides, binge drinking has now been defined as more than 2 standard drinks in a sitting, that's why the incidence of binge drinking has increased, because the definition has been expanded.

Houellebecq,

...It’s a question of what quality of “public life” a society wishes for. One must agree (to a point) with your sentiments: If you wish to “poison” yourself, great, but not in public thanks….

I never thought I'd say this (as I'd be perfectly happy with a world bereft of drugs and alcohol), but I'm against combating alcohol problems with stricter measures. Here's why:

RAISING THE DRINKING AGE: When I was 15, I got drunk for the first time. From then until I turned 18, drinking was about sourcing alcohol and doing a good job of getting off my face. My friends were the same. We didn't know when we'd be able to do it again, so we did a good job of it while we could. When we turned 18 and it was readily available, the sheen wore off and we all tended to moderate a bit more.

INCREASING THE PRICE: The Australian who has three beers after work each day does less damage to himself and his surrounds than the Australian who goes on a bender every Saturday night. However, he is likely to consume more alcohol over the same period. Increasing prices punishes the good with the bad.

SERVING LOW-ALCOHOL DRINKS AT SPORTING EVENTS: This brings on the pre-drinking. And people who pre-drink tend to drink more and drink more quickly due to time constraints and the desire to prolong the 'buzz'.

CLOSING EARLY: This causes the same problem with pre-drinking, as people try to get more in more quickly. Post-drinking becomes a reality as well - but they're out in the streets instead of in a 'controlled' environment.

The real issue, as I see it, is the reason Australians drink. There's a pretty strong tendency to drink for the sake of getting drunk - possibly because that's how we're conditioned at a young age. My British and Southern African rellies seem to have the same issue. Is it an Anglo thing?

'.It’s a question of what quality of “public life” a society wishes for'

Well, it used to be people had to wear hats and gloves in public. Now it's acceptable to walk around dressed as a hooker. I find it hard to be against drinking per se. I believe the real person comes out when drunk. It's not the alcohol that turns someone into a violent prick, it's that they were always a violent prick, but now minus the inhibitions. When someone steals because they are poor, we don't look to stop poverty, we look to punish the behavior.

Don't shoot the messenger. Like Alcohol exposes violent pricks, Gambling exposes the greedy, religion exposes the self righteous, shopping exposes the shallow and vain.

Most people have a vice.

Drugs
Alcohol
Gambling
Religion
Shopping
Fitness
Video games
Sex
Porn

Whatever numbs the pain.

The author give statistic showing that we drink about 30% less than we did in the seventies, then states "Instead what we are seeing today is an increase in the number of people partaking in dangerous levels of drinking, i.e. binge drinking or drinking to get drunk." He doesn't give a source for that assertion though. I am not convinced that Australians have a problem with drinking. I think we have a problem with people telling us we have a problem with drinking. I haven't seen a drunk in a public place in years. I don't tend to go into entertainment districts late at night, and if I did decide to i would expect to see some intoxicated people. After all, most people going out to pubs and clubs late at night like to have a fair bit to drink. I don't see that as a problem.
Of course there are the occasional alcohol related assaults. But in a country of twenty million people it would be more surprising if there weren't.
Doesn't mean every body is drinking and fighting.