The Ontario Public Health Association … cites multiple studies showing that increases in the number of places where alcohol can be bought in Ontario, and in other jurisdictions, have already led to more consumption and more of the harms that come with it, such as suicides, drunk driving, emergency-room visits and higher rates of cancer.
I enjoy booze, but I like that it’s hard to get. I don’t need any more encouragement to mess up my liver.
The Beer Store is a societal issue. It puts the binge drinker’s special – 24 bottles of beers for the evening – up front and centre, without much indication that you can buy singles from behind the Soviet-era counter. The data is fairly clear that people drink less when the beer is sold in small quantities (e.g. by the individual can, as is typical for craft beer). The first step in seeing reform is starting.
