Alcohol is popular in some parts of the world, despite Prohibition and the problems of alcoholism. Possession and use of alcoholic beverages continues to be illegal in many countries, and heavily regulated in many others.

History

Licensing laws have changed on a number of occasions in the United Kingdom. Until the late 1980s, public houses typically opened between 11:00 and 14:30 and then from 18:00 to 23:00. A change in the law in the late 1980s allowed all day opening, that is, between 11:00 and 23:00 except on Sunday. A more recent change has allowed more public houses to request extended licensing hours with the possibility of staying open 24 hours a day. All day opening was a contentious issue with arguments on one side that early closing encouraged binge drinking and resulted in large numbers of drunk people exiting onto the streets simultaneously. A counter argument was that early closing prevented people from becoming more drunk and causing more trouble.

• News story on extended opening hours

Advantages

• social interaction

Disadvantages

• alcoholism

External Links

• "If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation" from Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans from United States Department of Agriculture, 1995
• "Alcohol Prohibitoin Was A Failure", Mark Thornton concerning US prohibition from 1920 to 1933
• Alcohol History Database and Links from www.scc.rutgers.edu