An alcoholic beverage (also called an adult beverage, alcoholic drink, strong drink, or simply a drink)is a beverage containing alcohol. Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically their alcohol content is between 3% and 50%.
Many cultures have a distinct drinking culture, where alcoholic drinks are integrated into parties. Most countries have laws regulating the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.[1] For example, some regulations may require the labeling of the percentage alcohol content (as ABV or proof) and the use of a warning label. Some countries ban the consumption of alcoholic drinks, but they are legal in most parts of the world. The temperance movement advocates against the consumption of alcoholic beverages.[2] The global alcoholic drink industry exceeded $1.5 trillion in 2017. Alcohol is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world, and about 33% of all humans currently drink alcohol.[3] In 2015, among Americans, 86% of adults had consumed alcohol at some point, with 70% drinking it in the last year and 56% in the last month.[4] Several other animals are affected by alcohol similarly to humans and, once they consume it, will consume it again if given the opportunity, though humans are the only species known to produce alcoholic drinks intentionally.[5]
Alcohol is a depressant, which in low doses causes euphoria, reduces anxiety, and increases sociability. In higher doses, it causes drunkenness, stupor, unconsciousness, or death. Long-term use can lead to an alcohol use disorder, an increased risk of developing several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and physical dependence.
Alcohol is classified as a carcinogen. According to the World Health Organization, any alcohol consumption may cause health problems.
See main article: History of alcoholic drinks and Drinking culture.
Discovery of late Stone Age jugs suggests that intentionally fermented drinks existed at least as early as the Neolithic period.[6]
The oldest verifiable brewery has been found in a prehistoric burial site in a cave near Haifa in modern-day Israel. Researchers have found residue of 13,000-year-old beer that they think might have been used for ritual feasts to honor the dead. The traces of a wheat-and-barley-based alcohol were found in stone mortars carved into the cave floor.[7]
Beer was likely brewed from barley as early as 13,000 years ago in the Middle East.[8] Pliny the Elder wrote about the golden age of winemaking in Rome, the 2nd century BCE (200–100 BCE), when vineyards were planted.[9]
Examination and analysis of ancient pottery jars from the neolithic village of Jiahu in the Henan province of northern China revealed residue left behind by the alcoholic drinks they had once contained. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, chemical analysis of the residue confirmed that a fermented drink made of grape and hawthorn fruit wine, honey mead and rice beer was being produced in 7000–5600 BC (McGovern et al., 2005; McGovern 2009).[10] [11] The results of this analysis were published in December 2004.[12]
The earliest evidence of winemaking was dated at 6,000 to 5,800 BCE in Georgia in the South Caucasus.[13]
Celtic people were known to have been making types of alcoholic cider as early as 3000 BC.[14] [15] and wine was consumed in Classical Greece at breakfast or at symposia, and in the 1st century BC.[16]
Medieval Muslim chemists such as Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Latin: Geber, ninth century) and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (Latin: Rhazes,) experimented extensively with the distillation of various substances. The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (–950), and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf (later translated into Latin as Liber servatoris).[17] 12th century: The process of distillation spread from the Middle East to Italy, where distilled alcoholic drinks were recorded in the mid-12th century.[18]
In Italy, the works of Taddeo Alderotti (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated fractional distillation through a water-cooled still.[19] By the early 14th century, distilled alcoholic drinks had spread throughout the European continent. Distillation spread to Ireland and Scotland no later than the 15th century, as did the common European practice of distilling "aqua vitae", primarily for medicinal purposes.[20]
in 1690, England passed "An Act for the Encouraging of the Distillation of Brandy and Spirits from Corn" [21] Alcoholic beverages played an important role in the Thirteen Colonies from their early days when drinking wine and beer at that time was safer than drinking water – which was usually taken from sources also used to dispose of sewage and garbage.[22] Drinking hard liquor was common occurrence in early nineteenth-century United States.[23]
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. Beer was difficult to transport and spoiled more easily than rum and whiskey.
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a coup d'état in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the illicit rum trade of early Sydney, over which the 'Rum Corps', as it became known, maintained a monopoly. During the first half of the 19th century, it was widely referred to in Australia as the Great Rebellion.[24] The alcohol monopoly system has a long history in various countries, often implemented to limit the availability and consumption of alcohol for public health and social welfare reasons.
The alcohol monopoly was created in the Swedish town of Falun in 1850, to prevent overconsumption and reduce the profit motive for sales of alcohol. It later went all over the country in 1905 when the Swedish parliament ordered all sales of vodka to be done via local alcohol monopolies.[25] In 1894, the Russian Empire established a state monopoly on vodka, which became a major source of revenue for the Russian government.
Later in the nineteenth century opposition to alcohol grew in the form of the temperance movement, in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Scandinavia and India, and it eventually led to national prohibitions in Canada (1918 to 1920), Norway (spirits only from 1919 to 1926), Finland (1919 to 1932), and the United States (1920 to 1933), as well as provincial prohibition in India (1948 to present).
See main article: Beer.
See also: Beer styles and List of beer styles. Beer is a beverage fermented from grain mash. It is typically made from barley or a blend of several grains and flavored with hops. Most beer is naturally carbonated as part of the fermentation process. If the fermented mash is distilled, then the drink becomes a spirit. Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.[26]
See main article: Cider. Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic drink made from any fruit juice; apple juice (traditional and most common), peaches, pears ("Perry" cider) or other fruit. Cider alcohol content varies from 1.2% ABV to 8.5% or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, cider may be called "apple wine".[27]
See also: Kilju.
Fermented water is an ethanol-based water solution with approximately 15-17% ABV without sweet reserve. Fermented water is exclusively fermented with white sugar, yeast, and water. Fermented water is clarified after the fermentation to produce a colorless or off-white liquid with no discernible taste other than that of ethanol.
See main article: Mead. Mead, also called hydromel, is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content of mead may range from as low as 3% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the drink's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. Mead can also be referred to as "honeywine."
See main article: Pulque. Pulque is the Mesoamerican fermented drink made from the "honey water" of maguey, Agave americana. Pulque can be distilled to produce tequila or Mezcal.[28]
See main article: Rice wine. Rice wine is an alcoholic drink fermented and possibly distilled from rice, consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Sake, huangjiu, mijiu, and cheongju are popular examples of East Asian rice wine.
See main article: Wine. Wine is a fermented beverage most commonly produced from grapes. Wine involves a longer fermentation process than beer and often a long aging process (months or years), resulting in an alcohol content of 9%–16% ABV.
Sparkling wines such French Champagne, Catalan Cava or Italian Prosecco are also made from grapes, with a secondary fermentation.
Fruit wines are made from fruits other than grapes, such as plums, cherries, or apples.
See main article: Liquor. Distilled beverages (also called liquors or spirit drinks) are alcoholic drinks produced by distilling (i.e., concentrating by distillation) ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables.[29] Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic drinks that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called spirits.[30] For the most common distilled drinks, such as whisky (or whiskey) and vodka, the alcohol content is around 40%. The term hard liquor is used in North America to distinguish distilled drinks from undistilled ones (implicitly weaker). Brandy, gin, mezcal, rum, tequila, vodka, whisky (or wiskey), baijiu, shōchū and soju are examples of distilled drinks. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners. Freeze distillation concentrates ethanol along with methanol and fusel alcohols (fermentation by-products partially removed by distillation) in applejack.
Fortified wine is wine, such as port or sherry, to which a distilled beverage (usually brandy) has been added.[31] Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is wine that has had a spirit added to it. Many different styles of fortified wine have been developed, including port, sherry, madeira, marsala, commandaria, and the aromatized wine vermouth.[32]
See main article: Rectified spirit. Rectified spirit, also called "neutral grain spirit", is alcohol which has been purified by means of "rectification" (i.e. repeated distillation). The term neutral refers to the spirit's lack of flavor that would have been present if the mash ingredients had been distilled to a lower level of alcoholic purity. Rectified spirit also lacks any flavoring added to it after distillation (as is done, for example, with gin). Other kinds of spirits, such as whiskey, (or whisky) are distilled to a lower alcohol percentage to preserve the flavor of the mash.
Rectified spirit is a clear, colorless, flammable liquid that may contain as much as 95% ABV. It is often used for medicinal purposes. It may be a grain spirit, or it may be made from other plants. It is used in mixed drinks, liqueurs, and tinctures, and also as a household solvent.
See also: Congener (beverages), Wine chemistry and Hangover. In the alcoholic drinks industry, congeners are substances produced during fermentation. These substances include small amounts of chemicals such as occasionally desired alcohols, like propanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, as well as compounds that are never desired such as acetone, acetaldehyde and glycols. Congeners are responsible for most of the taste and aroma of distilled alcoholic drinks and contribute to the taste of non-distilled drinks.[33] It has been suggested that these substances contribute to the symptoms of a hangover.[34] Tannins are congeners found in wine in the presence of phenolic compounds. Wine tannins add bitterness, have a drying sensation, taste herbaceous, and are often described as astringent. Wine tannins add balance, complexity, structure and make a wine last longer, so they play an important role in the aging of wine.[35]
See main article: List of countries by alcohol consumption per capita. The average number of people who drink was 39% for males and 25% for females (2.4 billion people in total).[3] Females on average drink 0.7 drinks per day while males drink 1.7 drinks per day.[3] The rates of drinking varies significantly in different areas of the world.[3]
See main article: Alcohol-related crime.
Alcohol is used in rum-running, the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law.
Wine fraud relates to the commercial aspects of wine. The most prevalent type of fraud is one where wines are adulterated, usually with the addition of cheaper products (e.g. juices) and sometimes with harmful chemicals and sweeteners (compensating for color or flavor).
Moonshine is illegal to produce and sell in most countries.
A straw purchaser may receive money or recompense from the underage person in exchange for purchasing the alcohol on their behalf.
Alcohol has been used as a currency for transactional sex in South Africa, and Uganda.[36] [37] [38]
Pruno also known as prison hooch or prison wine, is a term used in the United States to describe an improvised alcoholic beverage. It is variously made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, fruit juices, hard candy, sugar, high fructose syrup, and possibly other ingredients, including crumbled bread.[39]
Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages and often enduring the subsequent intoxication resulting from them. Evidence of the existence of drinking games dates back to antiquity. Drinking games have been banned at some institutions, particularly colleges and universities.[40]
A drinking song is a song sung while drinking an alcoholic beverage.
A beer garden (German: Biergarten) is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees.
A beer hall is a large pub that specializes in beer.
A cider house is an establishment that sells alcoholic cider for consumption on the premises. Some cider houses also sell cider "to go", for consumption off the premises. A traditional cider house was often little more than a room in a farmhouse or cottage, selling locally fermented cider.
An ouzeri (Greek ουζερί in Greek, Modern (1453-); pronounced as /uzeˈri/) is a type of Greek tavern which serves ouzo (a Greek liquor) and mezedes (small finger foods).
Pulquerías (or pulcherías) are a type of tavern in Mexico that specialize in serving an alcoholic beverage known as pulque.
A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails.[41] Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of tropical cultures, most commonly Polynesian.
A toddy shop is a drinking establishment seen in some parts of India (particularly Kerala) where palm toddy, a mildly alcoholic beverage made from the sap of palm trees, is served along with food.
A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, such as Italian wine or Champagne. While many wine bars are private "stand-alone" establishments, in some cases, wine bars are associated with a specific wine retailer or other outlet of wine, to provide additional marketing for that retailer's wine portfolio. In countries where licensing regulations allow this, some wine bars also sell the wines they serve, and effectively function as a hybrid between a wine shop and a wine bar.
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Annual wine festivals celebrate viticulture and usually occur after the harvest of the grapes which, in the northern hemisphere, generally falls at the end of September and runs until well into October or later. They are common in most wine regions around the world and are to be considered in the tradition of other harvest festivals.
Beer tasting is a way to learn more about the history, ingredients, and production of beer, as well as different beer styles, hops, yeast, and beer presentation. A common approach is to analyze the appearance, smell, and taste of the beer, and then make a final judgment on the beer's quality. There are various scales used by beer journalists and experts to rate beer, such as the 1-20 scale used by British sommelier Jancis Robinson and the 1-100 scale used by American sommelier Joshua M. Bernstein. Professional organizations like the Wine & Spirit Education Trust often rate beer using verbal grades ranging from "faulty" to "outstanding" on a 1-5 scale.
Wine tasting, on the other hand, is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is ancient, a more formalized methodology has been established since the 14th century. Modern, professional wine tasters use specialized terminology to describe the range of perceived flavors, aromas, and general characteristics of a wine. More informal, recreational tasting may involve similar terminology, but with a less analytical process and a more general, personal appreciation of the wine.
Craft beer tourism refers to tourism where the primary motivation of travel is to visit a brewery, beer festival, beer related activity or other event that allows attendees to experience all aspects of the craft beer-making, consuming and purchasing process.[42]
Enotourism, oenotourism, wine tourism, or vinitourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Where other types of tourism are often passive in nature, enotourism can consist of visits to wineries, tasting wines, vineyard walks, or even taking an active part in the harvest.
See main article: Apéritif and digestif.
An apéritif is any alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite,[43] while a digestif is any alcoholic beverage served after a meal for the stated purpose of improving digestion. Fortified wine, liqueurs, and dry champagne are common apéritifs. Because apéritifs are served before dining, they are usually dry rather than sweet. One example is Cinzano, a brand of vermouth. Digestifs include brandy, fortified wines and herb-infused spirits (Drambuie).
See main article: Cooking with alcohol.
Pure ethanol tastes bitter to humans; some people also describe it as sweet.[44] However, ethanol is also a moderately effective solvent for many fatty substances and essential oils. This facilitates the use of flavoring and coloring compounds in alcoholic drinks as a taste mask, especially in distilled drinks. Some flavors may be naturally present in the beverage's raw material. Beer and wine may also be flavored before fermentation, and spirits may be flavored before, during, or after distillation. Sometimes flavor is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years in oak barrels, usually made of American or French oak. A few brands of spirits may also have fruit or herbs inserted into the bottle at the time of bottling.
Wine is important in cuisine not just for its value as an accompanying beverage, but as a flavor agent, primarily in stocks and braising, since its acidity lends balance to rich savory or sweet dishes.[45] Wine sauce is an example of a culinary sauce that uses wine as a primary ingredient.[46] Natural wines may exhibit a broad range of alcohol content, from below 9% to above 16% ABV, with most wines being in the 12.5–14.5% range.[47] Fortified wines (usually with brandy) may contain 20% alcohol or more.
Alcohol has been used to preserve food.[48]
Terms for foods always served with alcoholic beverages:
Vinegar (vyn egre; sour wine) is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume.[49] Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ethanol using yeast and ethanol to acetic acid using acetic acid bacteria.[50]
The source materials for making vinegar are varied – different fruits, grains, alcoholic beverages, and other fermentable materials are used:[51]
See main article: Wine and food matching.
Wine and food matching is the process of pairing food dishes with wine to enhance the dining experience. In many cultures, wine has had a long history of being a staple at the dinner table and in some ways both the winemaking and culinary traditions of a region will have evolved together over the years. Rather than following a set of rules, local cuisines were paired simply with local wines. The modern "art" of food pairings is a relatively recent phenomenon, fostering an industry of books and media with guidelines for pairings of particular foods and wine. In the restaurant industry, sommeliers are often present to make food pairing recommendations for the guest. The main concept behind pairings is that certain elements (such as texture and flavor) in both food and wine interact with each other, and thus finding the right combination of these elements will make the entire dining experience more enjoyable. However, taste and enjoyment are very subjective and what may be a "textbook perfect" pairing for one taster could be less enjoyable to another.[53]
Alcoholic beverages are typical offerings for the folk saint Maximón,[54] and Santa Muerte.[55] [56] Both folk saints have been described as narco-saints.[57] [58]
See main article: Libation.
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Wine or other alcoholic drinks are often used for libation.
=
Libation was part of ancient Egyptian society where it was a drink offering to honor and please the various divinities, sacred ancestors, humans present and humans who are alive but not physically present, as well as the environment.[59] It is suggested that libation originated somewhere in the upper Nile Valley and spread out to other regions of Africa and the world.[60] [61] According to Ayi Kwei Armah, "[t]his legend explains the rise of a propitiatory custom found everywhere on the African continent: libation, the pouring of alcohol or other drinks as offerings to ancestors and divinities."[62]
=In the Quechua and Aymara cultures of the South American Andes, it is common to pour a small amount of one's beverage on the ground before drinking as an offering to the Pachamama, or Mother Earth. This especially holds true when drinking Chicha, an alcoholic beverage unique to this part of the world. The libation ritual is commonly called challa and is performed quite often, usually before meals and during celebrations. The sixteenth century writer Bernardino de Sahagún records the Aztec ceremony associated with drinking octli:
Libation was done in this manner: when octli was drunk, when they tasted the new octli, when someone had just made octli...he summoned people. He set it out in a vessel before the hearth, along with small cups for drinking. Before having anyone drink, he took up octli with a cup and then poured it before the hearth; he poured the octli in the four directions. And when he had poured the octli then everyone drank it.[63]
See main article: Sacramental wine.
See also: Alcohol in the Bible and Religion and alcohol.
The amount of sacramental wine consumed during the Eucharist is typically limited to a single sip or small portion, which does not result in a measurable increase in the participant's blood alcohol content. This controlled and symbolic consumption of the sacramental wine is an integral part of the Eucharistic rite and does not lead to intoxication.
=According to the Catholic Church, the sacramental wine used in the Eucharist must contain alcohol. Canon 924 of the present Code of Canon Law (1983) states:
§3 The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.[64]
=
See main article: Eucharist in Lutheranism.
In Lutheranism, the Catechism teaches:
Some Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregations make grape juice available for children and those who are abstaining from alcohol and some will accommodate those with an allergy to wheat, gluten, or grapes.[65]
A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.[66] In chemistry, a tincture is a solution that has ethanol as its solvent. In herbal medicine, alcoholic tinctures are made with various ethanol concentrations, which should be at least 20% alcohol for preservation purposes.[66] [67]
A flaming drink is often ignited for aesthetic and entertainment purposes.
Alcoholic beverage may be consumed to celebrate observances such as the International Beer Day, International whisk(e)y day, or National Vodka Day. They also drink them for social events like International Women's Collaboration Brew Day, where people come together to make beer.
See main article: Alcohol by volume.
| Fruit juices | width=135 | < 0.1% |
| Cider, wine coolers | 4%–8% | |
| Beers | typically 5% (range is from 3–15%) | |
| Wines | typically 13.5% (range is from 8%–17%) | |
| Sakes | 15–16% | |
| Fortified wines | 15–22% | |
| Spirits | typically 30%-40% (range is from 15% to, in some rare cases, up to 98%) |
Ordinary distillation cannot produce alcohol of more than 95.6% by weight, which is about 97.2% ABV (194.4 proof) because at that point alcohol is an azeotrope with water. A spirit which contains a very high level of alcohol and does not contain any added flavoring is commonly called a neutral spirit. Generally, any distilled alcoholic beverage of 170 US proof or higher is considered to be a neutral spirit.[68]
Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented drinks such as wine, beer, and sake. However, some strains of yeast have been developed that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV.[69]
See also: Alcohol measurements and Alcohol equivalence.
Shot sizes vary significantly from country to country. In the United Kingdom, serving size in licensed premises is regulated under the Weights and Measures Act (1985). A single serving size of spirits (gin, whisky, rum, and vodka) are sold in 25 ml or 35 ml quantities or multiples thereof.[70] Beer is typically served in pints (568 ml), but is also served in half-pints or third-pints. In Israel, a single serving size of spirits is about twice as much, 50 or 60 mL.
The shape of a glass can have a significant effect on how much one pours. A Cornell University study of students and bartenders' pouring showed both groups pour more into short, wide glasses than into tall, slender glasses.[71] Aiming to pour one shot of alcohol (1.5 ounces or 44.3 ml), students on average poured 45.5 ml & 59.6 ml (30% more) respectively into the tall and short glasses. The bartenders scored similarly, on average pouring 20.5% more into the short glasses. More experienced bartenders were more accurate, pouring 10.3% less alcohol than less experienced bartenders. Practice reduced the tendency of both groups to over pour for tall, slender glasses but not for short, wide glasses. These misperceptions are attributed to two perceptual biases:
See main article: Standard drink.
There is no single standard, but a standard drink of 10g alcohol, which is used in the WHO AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)'s questionnaire form example,[72] have been adopted by more countries than any other amount.[73] 10 grams is equivalent to 12.7 millilitres.
A standard drink is a notional drink that contains a specified amount of pure alcohol. The standard drink is used in many countries to quantify alcohol intake. It is usually expressed as a measure of beer, wine, or spirits. One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of serving size or the type of alcoholic beverage. The standard drink varies significantly from country to country. For example, it is 7.62 ml (6 grams) of alcohol in Austria, but in Japan it is 25 ml (19.75 grams):
See main article: Alcohol laws.
See main article: Drinking age.
Alcohol laws regulate the manufacture, packaging, labelling, distribution, sale, consumption, blood alcohol content of motor vehicle drivers, open containers, and transportation of alcoholic drinks. Such laws generally seek to reduce the adverse health and social impacts of alcohol consumption. In particular, alcohol laws set the legal drinking age, which usually varies between 15 and 21 years old, sometimes depending upon the type of alcoholic drink (e.g., beer vs wine vs hard liquor or distillates). Some countries do not have a legal drinking or purchasing age, but most countries set the minimum age at 18 years.[1]
Some countries, such as the U.S., have the drinking age higher than the legal age of majority (18), at age 21 in all 50 states. Such laws may take the form of permitting distribution only to licensed stores, monopoly stores, or pubs and they are often combined with taxation, which serves to reduce the demand for alcohol (by raising its price) and it is a form of revenue for governments. These laws also often limit the hours or days (e.g., "blue laws") on which alcohol may be sold or served, as can also be seen in the "last call" ritual in US and Canadian bars, where bartenders and servers ask patrons to place their last orders for alcohol, due to serving hour cutoff laws. In some countries, alcohol cannot be sold to a person who is already intoxicated. Alcohol laws in many countries prohibit drunk driving.
In some jurisdictions, alcoholic drinks are totally prohibited for reasons of religion (e.g., Islamic countries with sharia law) or for reasons of local option, public health, and morals (e.g., Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933). In jurisdictions which enforce sharia law, the consumption of alcoholic drinks is an illegal offense,[74] although such laws may exempt non-Muslims.[75]
See main article: Alcohol and health.
Alcohol is a depressant, which in low doses causes euphoria, reduces anxiety, and increases sociability. In higher doses, it causes drunkenness, stupor, unconsciousness, or death. A metanalysis of 107 cohort studies concludes low daily alcohol intake provides no health benefits and increased consumption, even at relatively low levels of daily intake (>2 beverages for women and >3 beverages for men), increases health- and mortality-risks.[76] [77]
Short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once it is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence, residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors of relapse.[78] Long-term use can lead to an alcohol use disorder, an increased risk of developing physical dependence, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer. Some nations have introduced alcohol packaging warning messages that inform consumers about alcohol and cancer, as well as fetal alcohol syndrome.[79] The addition of warning labels on alcoholic beverages is historically supported by organizations of the temperance movement, such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, as well as by medical organisations, such as the Irish Cancer Society.[80] [81]
The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists ethanol as a carcinogen and states that: "There is sufficient evidence and research showing the carcinogenicity of acetaldehyde (the major metabolite of ethanol) which is excreted by the liver enzyme when one drinks alcohol."[82] The World Health Organization also considers alcohol to be a carcinogen with no quantity of consumption considered to be safe. WHO estimates nearly half of alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are linked to light or moderate drinking defined as "less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week".[83]