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What are the possible solutions to the problem of excessive alcohol consumption?
Edited by Theme Editor: John D. Pratten
Introduction
[1] Allamani et al. (2000) distinguished between "wet" and "dry" cultures. In wet cultures, the general attitude, and especially the actions of the government, did not seek to reduce alcohol consumption. This would be higher than that of dry cultures but alcohol-related problems were lower. Indeed, in wet cultures, the government would seek to defend the quality of the drink, whereas in dry cultures, there would be more formal controls to limit consumption. In the past, France would have been regarded by many as a wet culture. Alcohol drinking in France is deeply anchored in cultural traditions. Meals would be preceded by an "aperitif", with wine as a natural accompaniment to food followed by spirit as a "digestif". Indeed, French alcohol consumption remains one of the highest in both Europe and in the world, currently averaging 10.8 litres of pure alcohol per adult. Yet, alcohol purchasing has shown a continued decrease over the past decades, passing from 12.4 per cent in 1960 to 8.9 per cent in 2002, with alcohol consumption notably decreasing from 26 litres in 1961 to 12.9 in 2006 ([36] IAS, 2007; [27] Com-Ruelle, 2008). The decline can be attributed to several factors. Consumption has effectively declined since the change in drinking habits that accompanied the move from industrial to service-based employment following the 1970s oil crisis ([50] Pike and Melewar, 2006, p. 186):
Wine had changed from being a good of primary necessity, to one of luxury. Furthermore, government campaigns to stigmatise drinking, in a country with one of the world's highest rates of alcoholism and a poor record for drink driving, have reinforced this trend.
In addition, the impact of alcohol-related illnesses have forced the government to act. Alcohol drinking has major health repercussions and kills 45,000 French on average per year ([61] Zinski, 2008; [46] Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités, 2006):
The consequences of excessive alcohol consumption are now considered in France to constitute a serious public health and safety problem. It is a major cause of involvement in road traffic accidents and of premature mortality among males. The mortality and morbidity associated with excessive alcohol consumption...