Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 42, 25 October 1946, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be clearly written on one side of the paper only and where a nom-de-plume is used the name of the writer must be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the right to abridge, amend or withhold any letter or letters.

DRINKING AND DRINKING

Sir, —Under this title you published (in August) an article comparing drinking in Australia with drinking in Paris, England and -U.S.A. You also published a reply to. this, but an Australian paper has just come to hand containing an article reprinted from a Canadian one. This throws new light on the much-eulo-gised Paris open-air drinking. The article carries the unexpected title: “France Close to Prohibition,” and reads: “France, so often cited as a country whose people know how to drink properly, is very close to prohibition,” says Ross Harkness, in the ‘.‘Toronto Daily Star.” For many years the mounting toll of alcoholism in this land of so-called “temperate wine drinkers” has alarmed health authorities, but nothing was done about it until Vichy authorities began .to curb‘consumption. “The benefits were so startling that the present government is not only re-' taining the Vichy restrictions, but is going much farther,” Dr. Henri Penikio, of the National Department of Health, told me: “It is not from any puritanical motives but solely for health reasons.” The battle against alcoholism is being waged in two ways he said; first, by mak-ing-alcoholic beverages more difficult to get, and se«*nd, by providing alternatives. One of the alternatives is pleasant, attractive “dry” clubs. “The pub is the curse of France,” he declared, “for what we call the bistro is essentially an English pub except it sells wine instead of beer. We recognise the pub as tlie working man’s club, and if we are to eliminate the pub we must provide a better club. In rebuilding our devastated towns and cities the Government plans to provide attractive and pleasant clubs as community centres in which alcoholic beverages will not be served.” Advertising in any form of alcoholic beverages has been forbidden, and the huge and gaudy signs that line the highways advertising this “aperitif” or that “digestif” are being painted out. Restrictions in the hours of the sale are being imposed, with the result that the famous sidewalk cafes of Paris now serve in mid-afternoon only weak beer, a synthetic “orange juice,” and a non-alcoholic grape juice that is sweeter, heavier, and with quite a different flavour from the grape juice sold in Canada. The alcoholic content of all drinks has been reduced. The number of glasses that may be sold to a customer has been limited. As a result largely of the Vichy restrictions, the number of inmates of hospitals for the insane has dropped to 40 per cent, of the pre-war figure, while the number of commitments for alcoholism, has dropped from 6,000 annually to under 2,000. “That in itself was enough to justify the restrictions adopted,’ said Dr Penikio. “Aren’t you afraid of an increase in bootlegging,” I asked. “France always has had bootleggers and illicit manufacturers,” he replied, “despite the fact that our liquor laws are most liberal and prices are low. You never heard of French bootleggers simply because we ignored them. For the first time in her history, France is now searching out unlicensed distillers and we are finding hundreds that have been operating for years.” The multiplicity in France of such famous “cures” as Vichy, Thonon, Chatel Gyon, Aix les Bains, and scores of others is due to the prevalence of ailments caused by alcoholism, he said. I asked him if there was a link between alcoholism and the low French birth rate. “I don’t believe so,” he replied, “but we find a very close connection between the consumption of alcohol and poverty. A survey has shown that it is not uncommon for a working man to spend half his pay on wine, wife usually drinking as much as 'he does. The effect is noticeable on French children, who are undernourished and stunted.” Yours etc., TRUTH WILL OUT.