Alcohol !

As long as the human race has existed, alcohol has been one of it's problems.   The trouble is that it is addictive and yet at the same time it is quite capable of making our daily troubles fade into obscurity.  So many people use it as a crutch - to blot out an unhappy relationship or to shield us from the reality of an unrewarding job that bores us to near insanity.

Over the centuries various control measures have been applied.  These have ranged from restricted hours in which liquor could be sold or consumed, to that experiment with prohibition that the United States tried - with disastrous results.   The first law of commerce applies.  If there is demand for a product, supply will inevitably follow - legally or illegally.   That is clearly illustrated with the failed attempt to stem the flow of drugs on our streets.

The introduction of what have been termed the "Lockout laws "have certainly cleaned up problem areas such as Kings Cross in Sydney.  The powerful liquor industry is resisting making them widespread, but they seem to be a step in the right direction.  The Temperance people are railing about the increased availability of alcohol and demanding both a sharp reduction in the number of outlets offering it for sale - and an increase in the price.

That price issue raises many questions.  It assumes that if the price rises sales volumes will drop because the customers can no longer afford to buy it in excess.  In reality, alcohol consumption often remains constant and the extra cost is simply deducted from the purchase of household essentials. That thinking  ignores the addictive nature of alcohol and in many households it becomes the first priority in the spending of money - and putting food on the table becomes a casualty.

There is a move to couple the price of liquor to it's alcohol content, and the finger is often pointed at the popularity of cask wine.  Wine sold in five litre casks is often on special for a price as low as ten dollars, making the content available at just two dollars a litre.  Critics claim this is a spur to excess drinking - and some even question whether cask wine should be allowed.  The price fluctuates and the massive wine industry in Australia has adopted cask marketing to even out the surplus from bumper grape crops.

The idea of hiking alcohol prices as a health measure must be tempting to a Treasury beset with budget problems.   That needs to be considered with extreme caution, because it could easily cause the second law of commerce to apply.  Whenever a popular item is deemed expensive, a similar lower cost alternative will undercut that product.   We could easily see a rise in "Moonshine " and the quality of illicit alcohol could create an even bigger health problem.  

This is illustrated with the outcome of plain packaging for cigarettes and a huge rise in the retail price.   We are now seeing a contraband market supplying "chop chop "- loose stranded tobacco smuggled into the country and sold way below the price of legitimate cigarettes.  There have been impressive customs seizures, but they have had little impact on the availability of supply.

The one thing that counters all control measures that apply to any product - is herd instinct.  If the broad mass of the people have a desire for something that the authorities try to ban or strictly control, then the ingenuity of some and the greed for profit from others will ensure that this demand is met.  Even draconian punishment - like the death penalty that applies in some countries - simply becomes an acceptable risk in relation to the rewards available.

Something that our law makers would do well to ponder !