Alcohol is another legal substance that cost the government money to treat via the NHS but there is also the added problem of the anti social behaviour that is associated with drunkenness.
The police are constantly fighting the battle of maintaining calm on the streets of the city and towns where vandalism and crime are abundant because of the effects of alcohol, if it was any other substance i.e. cannabis, such behaviour just would not be acceptable but because drinking is a major factor in so many lives it seems to be impossible to contain these problems.
Many pubs and clubs ban taking drinks outside their doors unless it is a designated area. It has been made illegal to drink in public places such as squares and gardens there has been tough new legislation on underage drinking giving the police more authority to tackle such problems. Recently on the spot fines have been introduced to staff that sell more alcohol to customers who already seem to have had too much in pubs. And it is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone who is under the age of 18 or to buy it on behalf of someone who is underage. It is illegal to drink and drive because of the huge dangers this entails.
The government has produced exact amounts of units that are considered as healthy and has changed these units from weekly to daily to try to stop binge drinking at the weekend. It is however, possible to drink in and around our own homes i.e. the garden without fear of prosecution but we are still advised to drink responsibly and to a minimum.
