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No doubt public drinking will be next, followed by the right to go out in public (which, let's face it, is a significant cause of accidents and death). Thank god we have governments to make these decisions for us.

Many countries and other government entities have achieved most of that intended effect by coming down hard on drunken driving. I forsaw that this would happen first in the countries that have national health-care---the long-term costs for the governments are simply too expensive! And yes, the same argument can be made for alcohol, but Prohibition has been tried, with conspicuous lack of success...no one is saying that you can't buy or consume them at all...merely that they can't be inflicted on others.

In the event, I was wrong, and California blazed the trail. I was in California when the ban was passed, with wild lamentations from the restaurant and bar owners about lost customers and revenue, and was keenly aware of the same repeated in New York; in both cases there was some initial falling off, with a gradual but full rebound. There is also an (perhaps) unanticipated rise in traffic from people who couldn't be around cigarette smoke; after developing allergic asthma I hadn't been in a bar or unventilated restaurant in 20 years, and still have to leave one when I encounter this out of state.

As well, it can be good for tourism; I have an Irish friend who'd been inviting me to visit for years, and each time my reply was that, as life in the Irish countryside was centered around the pubs, there wasn't any point. This summer, after learning of their ban, I was off like a shot....and heaven knows, if you can get the Irish to do anything, the rest of the world should be a piece of cake...! I've been following this recently in the Scotsman, however, and local authorities there are saying that they will refuse to enforce it, so it may be that the Scots actually are more stubborn than the Irish (my heritage includes both)...it will be interesting to watch!