But when alcohol was legal in Pakistan, bars, cafes and liquor stores kept and sold alcoholic beverages from established breweries. These produced brands of whiskey, vodka, gin and beer that came with different price tags. Fourteen states (Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin and Virginia) explicitly allow minors to drink alcohol given to them by their parents or by a person mandated by their parents. [Citation needed] After its independence in 1947, Pakistani law was quite liberal in terms of alcohol laws. Large cities had a culture of drinking alcohol, and alcohol was readily available until the 1970s, when the ban was introduced for Muslim citizens. However, it remains widespread in urban areas of Pakistan by smugglers and also by diplomatic staff from some small countries. [25] Alcohol advertising is not illegal, although cultural taboos often prevent people from discussing it in public. [26] Foreigners and non-Muslims are less likely to be excluded from buying alcohol, and some local producers with special licenses will even help them buy. [27] [28] After its independence in 1947, Pakistani law was quite liberal in terms of alcohol laws. Major cities had a culture of drinking alcohol, and alcohol was readily available until the mid-1970s, when the Bhutto government introduced a ban on Muslim citizens. Since then, Pakistan`s Muslim-majority population has not been able to legally buy alcohol and the promotion of alcoholic beverages has been banned. During the 1977 election campaign, the ANP accused Bhutto of being a drunkard and a womanizer, deciding that if the people elected the ANP to power, they would « rid society of the evils of alcohol. » In India, the production, sale or consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur and Nagaland[2] and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Prohibition became controversial in Gujarat following an incident in July 2009 in which widespread poisoning was caused by illegally sold alcohol.
[3] Pakistan`s alcohol laws are enforced more strictly during the Muslim month of Ramadan. Not everyone, including non-Muslims, is supposed to eat or drink in public during the day, and many Pakistanis who drink alcohol may give up this habit for a month. At the local grocery store, alcohol can only be purchased before 8 p.m. (on Saturdays at 6 p.m., municipalities can make stricter bylaws). And state monopoly sellers close Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Alcohol cannot be purchased on Sundays, except in bars. U.S. customs laws state that no person under the age of 21 may import any type or quantity of alcohol into the country. [42] All Indian states observe dry days on major religious holidays/occasions, depending on the popularity of the festival in this region. Dry days are certain days when the sale of alcohol is prohibited, although consumption is allowed. Dry days are also observed on voting days.
Dry days are determined by the government of the respective state. National holidays such as Republic Day (January 26), Independence Day (August 15) and Gandhi Jayanthi (January 2). October) are usually dry days throughout India. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 is a Scottish Parliament bill that introduces a statutory minimum price for alcohol, initially 50 pence per unit, as part of the alcohol problem programme. The government introduced the law to prevent excessive alcohol consumption. As a floor price, the law is expected to increase the cost of the most profitable alcoholic beverages. The bill was passed with the support of the Scottish National Party, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. The opposition, the Scottish Labour Party, refused to support the legislation because the bill failed to recoup an estimated £125 million profit from alcohol traffickers. [47] In April 2019, it was reported that alcohol consumption in Scotland had increased despite the legislation. [48] If you want alcohol in Pakistan, you`ll likely be able to find a way to get it, although you`ll quickly find that drinking is done in private rather than in public. I visited several houses with well-stocked liquor cabinets. I was offered expensive imported alcohol on many occasions.
I got the phone numbers from « trusted » bootleggers in case I needed them. However, over the decades, and as Pakistan continues to face the ever-increasing problems of religious and sectarian violence, soaring crime rates, and political and economic upheaval, alcohol has taken a back seat as a burning moral issue. For many people, drinking alcohol is a pleasant part of their social life. During the lockdowns and restrictions introduced to combat COVID-19, social life has been significantly disrupted and the hospitality industry has been severely affected. However, harmful patterns of alcohol consumption remain dangerous to people`s health and costly to society, as shown in the oecd`s latest report on preventing the harmful use of alcohol (OECD, 2021[9]). The COVID-19 pandemic and related government measures to restrict mobility have impacted drinking habits and locations. While the road to recovery remains long and difficult, this crisis also increases the risk that individuals will drink in harmful ways to cope with stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence has increased, for which harmful alcohol consumption is a risk factor. Most countries have drunk driving laws that limit the amount of alcohol a person can consume before driving a car on a road. The permissible threshold for blood alcohol levels is between 0.0% and 0.08%. First, alcohol consumption weakens the immune system and, during the pandemic, preventing harmful alcohol consumption helps individuals manage infections (WHO/Europe, 2020[21]).
In addition, there is evidence that alcohol consumption, particularly regular excessive alcohol consumption, may impede the development of immunity in response to vaccination (Zimmermann and Curtis, 2019 [22]). Penalties for violations include fines, temporary or permanent loss of a driver`s license, and imprisonment. Some jurisdictions have similar prohibitions on drunk sailing, drunk cycling, and even drunk inline skating. In many places in the United States, it is also illegal to have an open container containing an alcoholic beverage in the passenger compartment of a vehicle. Many locals assumed that as a white and foreign woman, I wanted to enjoy all the legal or less legal ways to drink, so I learned all kinds of tips on where and how to buy alcohol in Pakistan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have significantly changed their consumption habits and moved the places of consumption from bars and restaurants. For many people, alcohol is part of their social life, a life that has been significantly disrupted by COVID-19. Overall, most people did not change how much they drank, but among those who did, a greater proportion of people drank more. Looking at preliminary data on government tax revenues, alcohol sales in Germany, the UK and the US increased by 3% to 5% in 2020 compared to 2019. Alcohol sales in bars and restaurants fell, which had a strong impact on this sector, while off-site sales such as e-commerce and retail stores increased significantly. In the United States, for example, online sales increased by up to 234%.
Unlike most fans of sinful drinks in Pakistan, I rarely keep alcoholic beverages at home. But those who do it (in Karachi), this may be one of the only reasons they like to live in this city. Even since the alcohol ban, smugglers and liquor traders have made profits from smuggled alcoholic beverages. Preventing alcohol-related illness and injury has a triple dividend. First of all, reducing alcohol consumption helps people cope with infections and develop immunity after vaccination. Second, preventing alcohol consumption and related diseases reduces the strain on health services, which are already heavily burdened by COVID-19. Third, with the prevention of harmful alcohol consumption, a healthier and more productive population will better contribute to the recovery of economic activities and social life after the pandemic.