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Prohibition
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Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, refers to a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the prohibition of alcohol was enforced. Use of the term as applicable to a historical period is typically applied to countries of European culture.
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Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, refers to a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the prohibition of alcohol was enforced. Use of the term as applicable to a historical period is typically applied to countries of European culture. In some countries of the Muslim world, consumption of alcoholic beverages is forbidden according to Islamic Law — though the strictness by which this prohibition was and is enforced varies considerably between various Islamic countries and various periods in their history.
In the early twentieth century, much of the impetus for the prohibition movement in the Nordic countries and North America came from Protestant wariness of alcohol.
The first half of the 20th century saw periods of prohibition of alcoholic beverages in several countries:
North America
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries, with the exception of Denmark, have had a long temperance tradition. Prohibition was enforced in Iceland from 1915 to 1922 (with beer prohibited until 1989). In Norway, distilled beverages were prohibited from 1916 to 1927, and prohibition also included fortified wine and beer from 1917 to 1923. In Finland, alcoholic beverages were prohibited between 1919 and 1932. Sweden enforced a rationing system (Bratt System or "motboken") between 1914 and 1955; a referendum in 1922 rejected total prohibition. Alcohol was still prohibited in the Faroe Islands until 1992. Nordic countries today, with the exception of Denmark, strictly control the sale of alcohol. There are government monopolies in place for selling liquors, wine and stronger beers to consumers, in Norway (Vinmonopolet), Sweden (Systembolaget), Iceland (Vínbúðin) and Finland (Alko). Corporations, like bars and restaurants, may import alcoholic beverages directly or through other companies. The temperance movement in Scandinavia (parts of which are affiliated with the International Organisation of Good Templars), which advocates strict government regulations concerning the consumption of alcohol, have seen a decline in membership numbers and activity during the past years but are now on the rise again, in example Swedish IOGT-NTO having a net gain of 12,500 members in 2005.
Russia and Soviet Union
In the Russian Empire, a limited version of a Dry Law was introduced in 1914. It continued through the turmoil of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War into the period of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union until 1925.
Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia
Alcohol is prohibited in some Muslim countries because of Quranic cautions against the drink:
- "Shaitân (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh (God) and from As-Salât (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?"
- "They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought."
Saudi Arabia completely bans the production, importation or consumption of alcohol and imposes strict penalties on those violating the ban, including weeks to months of imprisonment, and possible lashes, as does Kuwait. During the Gulf War in 1991, the Coalition banned its troops in Saudi Arabia from drinking alcohol in order to show respect for local beliefs.
Qatar bans the importation of alcohol and it is a punishable offense to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. Alcohol is, however, available at licensed hotel restaurants and bars, and expatriates living in Qatar can obtain alcohol on a permit system.
The United Arab Emirates does not restrict the purchase of alcohol from a liquor store to non-Muslim foreigners who have residence permits and who have an Interior Ministry liquor license.
Alcohol was first permitted in Bahrain, known to be the most progressive Persian Gulf state and the earliest to prosper, popular with those crossing the causeway from Saudi Arabia. However, in February 2009, MPs voted to ban all alcohol from Bahrain International Airport.
Iran began restricting alcohol consumption and production soon after the 1979 Revolution, with harsh penalties meted out for violations of the law. However, there is widespread violation of the law. Officially recognized non-Muslim minorities are allowed to produce alcoholic beverages for their own private consumption and for religious rites such as the Eucharist.
Alcohol was banned in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. In the wake of the ousting from power of the Taliban, the ban was lifted for foreigners, who can buy alcohol in certain shops on presentation of their passport to prove they are foreigners.
Libya bans the import, sale and consumption of alcohol, with heavy penalties for offenders. Tunisia has a selective ban on alcohol products other than wine, with consumption and sale being allowed in special zones or bars "for tourists" and in big cities . Wine, however, is widely available. Morocco prohibits the sale of alcohol during Ramadan
Sudan has banned all alcohol consumption and extends serious penalties to offenders.
Many other Arab or mainly Muslim countries such as Egypt and Turkey do not have any ban on alcohol and production as well as consumption are legal, under the provision that people below the legal drinking age (which ranges from 18 to 21 depending on the country and the situation) cannot legally purchase alcoholic beverages. In Turkey the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited for 24 hours during general elections.
Southern Asia
Some states of India are dry, for example the states of Gujarat and Mizoram. Certain national holidays such as Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti (birthdate of Mahatma Gandhi) are meant to be dry nationally. The state of Andhra Pradesh had imposed Prohibition under the Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao but this was thereafter lifted. Dry days are also observed on voting days. Prohibition was also observed from 1996 to 1998 in Haryana. In Maharashtra, drinking is permitted only with an alcohol permit, though this is rarely enforced.
Pakistan allowed the free sale and consumption of alcohol for three decades from 1947, but restrictions were introduced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto just weeks before he was removed as prime minister in 1977. Since then, only members of non-Muslim minorities such as Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians are allowed to apply for permits for alcohol. The monthly quota depends on their income but is usually about five bottles of liquor or 100 bottles of beer. In a country of 140 million, only about 60 outlets are allowed to sell alcohol and there used to be only one legal brewery, Murree Brewery in Rawalpindi, Now there are more. Enforced by the country's Islamic Ideology Council, the ban is strictly policed. However, members of religious minorities often sell their liquor permits to Muslims and a black market trade in alcohol continues.
Bangladesh permits licensed hotel and restaurant bars to sell alcohol to foreigners and non-Muslims. Foreigners (but not locals) are also allowed to import certain quantities of alcohol for personal use. Bangladeshi Muslims are officially required to have a permit to purchase alcohol, although enforcement is lax. Homemade liquor is widely consumed in rural areas.
The Maldives ban the import of alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are available only to foreign tourists on resort islands and may not be taken off the resort.
Southeast Asia
Thailand bans the selling of alcohol during the afternoon to prevent schoolchildren from buying alcohol. The electronic cashiers of supermarkets and convenience stores are programmed not to accept alcoholic beverages during this time, but cashiers frequently circumvent the register restrictions by scanning a non-alcoholic item of equal value.
In Brunei, alcohol consumption in public is banned and there is no sale of alcohol. Non-Muslims are allowed to purchase a limited amount of alcohol from their point of embarkation overseas for their own private consumption. Non-Muslims over 17 years of age may be allowed to bring in not more than two bottles of liquor (about two quarts) and twelve cans of beer per person into the country.
Australia
Alcohol is prohibited in many remote indigenous communities across Australia. Penalties for transporting alcohol into these "dry" communities are severe and can result in confiscation of any vehicles involved; in dry areas within the Northern Territory, all vehicles used to transport alcohol are seized.
Because alcohol consumption has been known to lead to violence, some communities sought a safer alternative in substances such as kava, especially in the Northern Territory. Over-indulgence in kava causes sleepiness, rather than the violence that can result from over-indulgence in alcohol. These and other measures to counter alcohol abuse met with variable success, with some communities seeing decreased social problems and others reporting no decreases. The ANCD study notes that in order to be effective, programs in general need also to address "...the underlying structural determinants that have a significant impact on alcohol and drug misuse" (Op. cit., p.26). The Federal government banned kava imports into the Northern Territory in 2007.
Elections
In many countries in Latin America the sale but not the consumption of alcohol is prohibited before and during elections.
Further reading
- Susanna Barrows, Robin Room, and Jeffrey Verhey (eds.), The Social History of Alcohol: Drinking and Culture in Modern Society (Berkeley, Calif: Alcohol Research Group, 1987)
- Susanna Barrows and Robin Room (eds.), Drinking: Behavior and Belief in Modern History University of California Press, 1991
- Jack S. Blocker, David M. Fahey, and Ian R. Tyrrell eds. Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia 2 Vol. (2003)
- JS Blocker, Jr. "Did prohibition really work? Alcohol prohibition as a public health innovation." Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):233-43. Epub 2005 27 December.
- Ernest Cherrington, ed., Standard Encyclopaedia of the Alcohol Problem 6 volumes (1925-1930), comprehensive international coverage to late 1920s
- Jessie Forsyth Collected Writings of Jessie Forsyth 1847-1937: The Good Templars and Temperance Reform on Three Continents ed by David M. Fahey (1988)
- Gefou-Madianou. Alcohol, Gender and Culture (European Association of Social Anthropologists) (1992)
- Dwight B. Heath, ed; International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture Greenwood Press, 1995
- Patricia Herlihy; The Alcoholic Empire: Vodka & Politics in Late Imperial Russia Oxford University Press, 2002
- Sulkunen, Irma. History of the Finnish Temperance Movement: Temperance As a Civic Religion (1991)
- Tyrrell, Ian; Woman's World/Woman's Empire: The Woman's Christian Temperance Union in International Perspective, 1880-1930 U of North Carolina Press, 1991
- White, Helene R. (ed.), Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns Reexamined (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, 1991).
- White, Stephen.Russia Goes Dry: Alcohol, State and Society (1995)
- Robert S. Walker and Samuel C. Patterson, OKLAHOMA GOES WET: THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION (McGraw-Hill Book Co. Eagleton Institute Rutgers University 1960).
- Samuel C. Patterson and Robert S. Walker, "The Political Attitudes of Oklahoma Newspapers Editors: The Prohibition Issue," The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly 1961.
See also
External links
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