> addict populations to facilitate trade That's a bit of a stretch. You could say that about any popular products - smartphones, soap, ... Some say the indust

> addict populations to facilitate trade That's a bit of a stretch. You could say that about any popular products - smartphones, soap, ... Some say the industrial revolution was facilitated by the switch of Western people from alcohol based drinks to caffeine based ones. > Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and stimulated, rather than relaxed and mildly inebriated, and the quality and quantity of their work improved … Western Europe began to emerge from an alcoholic haze that had lasted for centuries.”