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From TFA: This paper evaluates the impact of a sudden and unexpected nation-wide alcohol sales ban in South Africa. We find that this policy causally
by nobody9999 5y ago
From TFA:
This paper evaluates the impact of a sudden and
unexpected nation-wide alcohol sales ban in South
Africa. We find that this policy causally reduced
injury-induced mortality in the country by at
least 14% during the five weeks of the ban. We
argue that this estimate constitutes a lower
bound on the true impact of alcohol on injury-
induced mortality. We also document a sharp drop
in violent crimes, indicating a tight link
between alcohol and aggressive behavior in
society. Our results underscore the severe harm
that alcohol can cause and point towards a role
for policy measures that target the heaviest
drinkers in society.
That alcohol use impairs coordination and judgement, and makes a significant portion of users more aggressive/violent isn't news to, well, anyone.
Archaeologists have documented the use of mind altering substances (including alcohol) for nearly ten thousand years[0]. And such use almost certainly goes back much, much farther.
Alcohol use isn't going to stop, regardless of the negative consequences.
And creating a black market (cf. US 18th Amendment[1], the US "war on some drugs", etc.) only engenders more violence, as there is no legal way to resolve disputes.
As such, while I'm sure the findings of this study are correct, unless and until humans stop using mind altering substances (i.e., never), some alcohol (and other substances) users will continue to make poor choices and act aggressively and violently regardless of any "policies" put in place to reduce/eliminate such activity.
In fact, we already have such policies (laws against drunk driving, assault and property damage, etc.) and while we may make headway with education and alternatives to personal vehicles, we'll never eliminate such behavior.
[0] https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/our-ancestors-got-high-too https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/our-ancestors-got-high...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_Amendment_to_the_Un...