Limiting the booze

available seems like a good idea to me.

I will have of course to say at the outset that I do not drink alcohol. I am allergic to alcohol. No, I am not an alcoholic. If I ingest alcohol I get a very nasty reaction. I have tried to explain it to other people as a bit like touching a stinging nettle but inside rather than out. It won't kill me but it is excruciatingly uncomfortable for a time and I am very careful about avoiding it. 

There have been rare occasions on which people have tried to force it on me, have told me that I must be allergic to something else and have generally not believed that anyone could actually be allergic and not an alcoholic. I am allergic. The medical profession says I am allergic. For the record I cannot tolerate vinegar either...and that is a real nuisance at times. 

I can live without alcohol. It saves a lot of money and I can still have a good time without it. I don't need it but it seems this is not the case for many other people. Downunderites are some of the heaviest drinkers of alcohol in the world. Many of them drink far more than the medical profession says is good for them.  "Going to the pub" for the evening is a common social activity here. During the Covid lock downs the authorities actually decided to keep the liquor outlets open as an "essential" service because of the threats posed by people who could not get their alcohol fix. Liquor outlets have extended hours. The booze shop in our local shopping centre is the biggest one after the two supermarkets. 

The, how shall it put it, "alcohol industry" is a major part of the economy. It means employment for an enormous number of people in the production and distribution of it and in the hospitality industry. It is also a major contributing factor to road accidents, domestic violence, child neglect and other serious social problems as well medical issues.

There seems to be a vague awareness of all this among those who make the alcohol laws. They are talking about limiting the availability of alcohol at least in some places and at some times. I am sure our police force would welcome not having to deal with quite so many alcohol related incidents in and around the city at weekends. 

But why stop there? There is no point in trying to ban alcohol but is there a way of reducing consumption here as well as in Alice Springs? 

The Senior Cat's generation did not drink much alcohol. They could not legally drink until they were twenty-one - although no doubt a few did. They did not have the disposable income so many young people now think they have. They also had to make their own entertainment. Going to a "night club" was not something they even considered - and they would have been denied entry had they tried.  

Perhaps we could start with making more effort to help the next generations to build the skills to entertain themselves. Then the liquor laws could reflect what people might reasonably  "need" rather than what they "want".