Today I thought I would consider some of the political aspects of alcohol, ending with look at one of the most famous drinkers to reside at Number 10 Downing Street.
I do not want to go into too much laborious detail about the history of legislation surrounding alcohol, rather to just give a bit of a taste of some of the key issues. Alcohol, along with tobacco and caffeine, enjoys the privilege of being a legal psychoactive substance in many countries and cultures across the world. Its use is interwoven with all aspects of our lives as we celebrate and commemorate those important milestones – births, deaths, marriages, passing exams, getting engaged, securing a promotion, moving to a new home, birthdays, anniversaries. Or things that are not milestones – weekends, dinner parties, holidays, party parties.
However, it is a substance that can cause serious physical and mental health problems for those who drink to excess. It can lead to loss of employment opportunities, financial problems and involvement in criminal activity – murder, domestic violence, child abuse, violent acts, driving under the influence, theft, fraud and robbery. There is a distinction between crimes committed while under the influence and those committed to obtain the funds for drinking or just shoplifting the alcohol (see the featured image in my Day 7 post). Alcohol can also negatively impact on relationships – with partners, other family members, friends and colleagues at work or college.
It was ostensibly concern about the rise in domestic violence and child abandonment that led to the Volstead Act for Prohibition in the USA (1920 – 1933), although there was also a strong pre-existing moral movement against the production and consumption of alcohol.
There are two main arms to how politics affects alcohol consumption. The first arm is legislation around who, when and where people can drink, purchase or produce alcohol. It was in the 19th century in the UK that licensing laws really started to come into effect, although laws and restrictions go back a lot further than that. The 1914 Defence of the Realm Act led to the restriction on pub opening times because there was fear that too much drinking would threaten the war effort. These restrictions were enshrined in law in 1921 rather than being lifted, and it wasn’t until 1988 in England and Wales that all day drinking was introduced – from 11.00 to 23.00 hrs. Scotland had relaxed their restrictions 10 years before then. And it was not until 2005 that 24-hour opening licenses were introduced.
The second arm is through excise duty and taxation. The first tax on alcohol was introduced in 1643 to help fund the opposing sides in the first English Civil war and to reduce drinking among the military. This nicely illustrates the tension that modern governments have to balance – on the one hand, developing a good revenue stream, and on the other a need to reduce alcohol consumption because of all the harm it causes. The UK taxation of alcohol is controversial and has many contradictions. It is still tied to EU regulations even though we are no longer part of the EU, and it runs counter to WHO (World Health Organisation) recommendations that higher taxation of alcohol is an effective way to reduce consumption. Scotland has already gone down the path of setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol. For tax purposes in England and Wales, there are differences between how the main categories (beer, wine and spirits) are taxed, and in “real terms” tax on alcohol is lower than it used to be.
Well, that’s enough of that for now. Let’s look at Number 10. Of course, it became notorious under Boris Johnson during the Covid pandemic, with “Partygate” and the “Bring your own booze” memo sent to staff. Rather than discuss these issues here, I think it would be much more interesting to look at the drinking habits of a famous earlier resident at Number 10 – Sir Winston Churchill.
It has been well-established that Churchill was a prolific drinker, but that does not mean to say he was an “alcoholic” or, more correctly, had an Alcohol Use Disorder. I will look at labelling and diagnostic issues in a later post. Here is a typical day’s drinking for Churchill:
Whisky and soda in bed upon awakening.
A pint of Champagne or other wine with lunch, followed by a brandy.
A pint of Champagne or other wine with dinner, followed by a brandy.
Whisky and soda before bed.
He was partial to Johnnie Walker scotch and Champagne, but not mixed as far as we know. Blended whiskies were the norm in those days, whereas now there is more of a proliferation of single malts. The pints referred to above are imperial (UK) pints – one pint is about 568ml. If we say a typical Champagne and wine would be about 12.5% abv and he took only a single measure of spirits each time, then I calculate a daily alcohol intake of around 20 units (my earlier post Day 1 for information about units). The following quote more than lends a bit of credence to the above, speaking about his rule for life:
“…the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.”
And on that note…
Alcohol Trivia Quiz
Yesterday’s answers:
1. The Beautiful South had a hit with Liars’ Bar.
2. Those are things you would find in a distillery. You didn’t think in my wardrobe, did you?!
3. Madame de Pompadour.
Today’s questions:
1. Why is Porter beer so named?
2. Why was IPA developed?
3. Who said “I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me”?
Understand Yourself Better 