On Sat, 27 May 2006 14:23:24 +0100, john2 > wrote:

wrote:
>> In uk.legal Jasbird > wrote:
>>
>>>Europe to crack down on ?passive drinking?, says leaked report
>>
>>>Our reporter in Brussels reveals that EC officials are plotting to make
>>>drinking as socially unacceptable as smoking.
>>
>> Fat chance. Especially in countries such as France and Spain where wine
>> on the table is the norm of most meals.
>>
>> Axel
>
>Many studies have shown that moderate drinking increases life span and
>reduces risk of coronaries. So it doesn't make that much sense to stop
>something that is healthy, even for a European bureaucrat.
>
>john2

No doubt moderate cocaine use has a whole load of advantages going for
it too. (The President of Bolivia, an ex-cocaine farmer, would certainly
agree with that statement)

The problems a
1) Many people who can't limit their drinking. How do we protect the
vulnerable?
2) What about the peripheral damage caused by boozing. Car accident
victims, children of broken homes, etc. You saw the numbers? The
fallout costs of booze on European society are estimated at : 240
(minimum) to 980 billion Euros per year; which is many thousands times
greater than the cost of Ecstasy use. [Ecstasy is a class A drug]

You think you can argue for freedom to booze on the basis that "moderate
drinking increases life span and reduces risk of coronaries" - you
haven't a hope in hell. It's time you came up with some better
arguments. I suggest you try arguing for "I drink because I like it and
the government have no right to tell me what to do".