Public health regulations are not completely effective for everyone, but they can still be more effective than null on average. Raising prices, reducing availab

Public health regulations are not completely effective for everyone, but they can still be more effective than null on average. Raising prices, reducing availability or visibility, and other measures do usually work. Prohibition is often cited as a failure, but in terms of public health, it absolutely was not. On the whole, people did drink less and there were public health and social benefits. The organized crime was a separate issue, and so was self-control, as the will of the people to drink played a part in its downfall as well. Our steps toward cigarette prohibition, on the other hand, seem unlikely to be walked back. There will still be illegal cigarettes and people who smoke them, but there will be less smoking, and that's a public health win.