Draft:Issues relating to cheap alcohol

Home-made

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This is a list of alcoholic beverages that are cheap to produce that are not subject to alcohol tax.

Homebrewing

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Beer was brewed domestically for thousands of years before its commercial production, although its legality has varied according to local regulation. Homebrewing is closely related to the hobby of home distillation, the production of alcoholic spirits for personal consumption; however home distillation is generally more tightly regulated.

Homebrewing offers a cost-effective alternative to purchasing ready to drink alcoholic beverages, allowing enthusiasts to enjoy quality drinks at a fraction of the price.

Health concerns

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In certain situations, traditional methods of home brewing have made alcoholic beverages both affordable and accessible, even to young children.[1][2][3]

Recent evidence indicates rising alcohol consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, shifting from homebrewed drinks at ceremonies to increased access and marketing by commercial companies targeting youth.[4] A study in rural South Africa shows that feeling valued by the community protects rural South African adolescents from early alcohol use, while perceptions of adult anti-social behavior and homebrewed alcohol increase risk.[5]

Liquor

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Liquor (/ˈlɪkər/ LIK-ər) or distilled beverage is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include spirit, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone,[6] it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids).[7]

Health concerns

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A survey of high school students in Alstahaug, Nordland county, revealed that adolescents consume alcohol at rates above the national average, with home-made liquor being prevalent and easily accessible, highlighting an urgent need for preventive measures.[8]

Commercial

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This is a list of cheap alcoholic beverages that are legally available for sale and subject to alcohol tax.

Box wine

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Boxed wine (cask wine) is a wine sold in "bag-in-box" packaging. Traditionally, this consists of a cardboard box containing a wine filled plastic reservoir. The flow of the wine from the box is controlled by a valve.

Box wines utilize plastic bags instead of traditional glass bottles, significantly reducing production and shipping costs, which makes them a more affordable option for consumers.

Health concerns

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The introduction of cask wine in the late 1960s has had significant negative consequences. The Australian wine industry has benefited from favorable tax policies, which have led to a substantial increase in both domestic consumption and international exports. However, these developments have not been without drawbacks, particularly in terms of public health and social issues related to increased alcohol accessibility and consumption.[9]

Desi daru

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Desi daru (Hindi: देसी दारू), also known as country liquor or Indian-made Indian liquor (IMIL), is a category of liquor made in the countryside of the Indian subcontinent (as opposed to Indian-made foreign liquor). It is traditionally prepared by a procedure that has been passed down for centuries. Due to cheap prices, country liquor is the most popular alcoholic beverage among the impoverished people. It is fermented and distilled from molasses, a by-product of sugarcane.[10][11][12] Desi liquor is a broad term and it can include both legally and illegally made local alcohol. The term desi daru usually refers to legal alcohol while other types of country liquor (arrack and palm toddy) may be categorised as moonshine alcohol.[13]

Social issues

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Country liquor, being the cheapest alcohol in India, is the mainstay alcoholic beverage for the rural population and urban poor. In rural areas, illicit country liquor has been blamed for domestic violence and poverty in the family. There have been several protests against country liquor shops/bars in villages.[14][15][16]

Adulteration
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As country liquor is cheaper than other spirits, there have been reports of mixing country liquor with Scotch/English whisky in many bars in India.[17]

If care is not taken in the distillation process and the proper equipment is not used, harmful impurities such as fusel alcohols, lead from plumbing solder, and methanol can be concentrated to toxic levels. Several deaths have been reported in India and Pakistan due to consumption of non-factory made toxic liquor.[18][19][20]

Flavored fortified wine

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Flavored fortified wine or tonic wine is inexpensive fortified wine that typically has an alcohol content between 13% and 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). They are made from various fruits (including grapes and citrus fruits) with added sugar, artificial flavor, and artificial color.

Concerns and media attention

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While overtaken somewhat in the low-end alcoholic drink market by sweetened malt beverages by the 1990s, the appeal of cheap fortified wines to the poor and homeless has often raised concerns:

Community groups in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland have urged makers of fortified wines such as Wild Irish Rose and E & J Gallo's Thunderbird and Night Train brands to pull their products from the shelves of liquor retailers in skid row areas. In Nashville, Tennessee, one liquor store owner told Nashville Business Journal reporter Julie Hinds that police warned him to stop selling his biggest selling product, Wild Irish Rose, because it encouraged homeless people to linger in the area.

— Janice Jorgensen, Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands: Consumable Products (1993), p. 492.

In 2005, the Seattle City Council asked the Washington State Liquor Control Board to prohibit the sale of certain alcohol products in an impoverished "Alcohol Impact Area". Among the products sought to be banned were over two dozen beers and six wines: Cisco, Gino's Premium Blend, MD 20/20, Night Train, Thunderbird, and Wild Irish Rose.[21] The Liquor Control Board approved these restrictions on 30 August 2006.[22] Two other cities in Washington, Tacoma and Spokane, also followed suit in instituting "Alcohol Impact Areas", after Seattle's example.[23][24]

Malt liquor

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Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, most closely associated with North America. Legally, it often[where?] includes any alcoholic beverage with 5% or more alcohol by volume made with malted barley.[citation needed] In common usage, it refers to beers of high alcohol content, generally above 6%, which are made with ingredients and processes resembling those for American-style lagers.

While traditional premium lager is made primarily from barley, water, and hops, malt liquors tend to make much greater use of inexpensive adjuncts such as corn, rice, or dextrose. Use of these adjuncts, along with the addition of special enzymes, results in a higher percentage of alcohol than an average beer.

Advertising

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The core market for malt liquor brewers in the United States in recent decades has been the Black and Hispanic populations.[25] Brewers' use of target marketing in advertising malt liquor primarily to young, inner-city, black males has been controversial, because of the drink's higher alcohol content and the perceived vulnerability of the target audience. Brewers and advertisers have stated that they simply advertise to those who already buy their products. Critics have objected to the targeting of a segment of the population suffering disproportionately from alcohol-related disease and poor access to medical care.[26]

In order to highlight the potency of malt liquor, brand names have stressed powerful imagery such as Colt 45 (a reference to the .45 Colt handgun cartridge), Big Bear, and Power Master,[27] and used slogans such as "It's got more" or "The Real Power".[28] Power and sexual dominance have been common themes in their advertising.[27][29] Latter-20th-century television commercials for Schlitz Malt Liquor featured an 1800-lb. Brahma bull charging through walls.[30] Ads for Power Master, and the brand name itself, were eventually banned in the United States by regulations against advertising implying the strength of alcoholic beverages.[25][31][32][33]

Health concerns
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The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has reported that African Americans suffer disproportionate rates of cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol-related health problems. In light of such statistics, African-American community leaders and some health officials have concluded that targeting high-alcohol beverage ads at this segment of the population is unethical and socially irresponsible.[26][32] In 1991, U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello criticized all alcoholic beverage companies for "unabashedly targeting teenagers" with "sexual imagery, cartoons, and rock and rap music" in television and print ads.[26]

Plonk

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Plonk is a term used primarily in Commonwealth English for generally cheap, low-quality wine.[34]

Health concerns

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In France, where the wine industry successfully transitioned from selling inexpensive "plonk" to quality wines produced in specified regions, resulting in increased profits and a reduction in deaths from alcoholic liver disease.[35]

Waragi

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Waragi (pronounced [ˈwaɾaɡi], also known as kasese) is a generic term in Uganda for domestic distilled beverages. Waragi is also given different names, depending on region of origin, the distillation process, or both. Waragi is known as a form of homemade Gin. The term "Waragi" is synonymous with locally distilled gin throughout Uganda. However, Uganda Waragi is a particular brand of industrially distilled gin produced by East African Breweries Limited. Other brands of distilled gin which are done by individuals at small scale are also available, but they are different from each other. The most common are: 1. "Kasese-Kasese" which was originally distilled in the district of Kasese in western Uganda and sold all over the country; 2. "Arege mogo" which first originated in Lira district in northern Uganda made and sold all over the country . These two brands "waragi" have different tastes and aromas. The distillation process in both cases produce highly distilled gin at the level produced industrially.

Health concerns

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In April 2010, 80 people died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome after drinking waragi adulterated with a high amount of methanol over a three-week period in Kabale District.[36][37][38] Many of the deaths were blamed on the reluctance of people to openly admit their relatives had been drinking it, allowing the abuse of the substance to continue.[37][38] When revelations came about houses were searched, with around 120 jerrycans uncovered.[38]

The death toll of 80 was arrived at after 15 people died in the period between April 23 and the weekend before.[39] Deaths in Kamwenge went from five to nine after four people died on 21 April.[39] Two people were hospitalised at Kamwenge's Ntara Health Centre IV and five were hospitalised at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.[39]

BBC correspondent Joshua Mmali described it as "the largest number killed at one time for several years."[38]

Black market

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By contaminated moonshine

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Changaa being made

Moonshine from various countries that have been known to be contaminated:


See also

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References

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  1. ^ Skylstad, V; Babirye, JN; Kiguli, J; Skar, AS; Kühl, MJ; Nalugya, JS; Engebretsen, IMS (2022). "Are we overlooking alcohol use by younger children?". BMJ Paediatrics Open. 6 (1): e001242. doi:10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001242. PMC 8905875. PMID 36053657.
  2. ^ Ramírez-Ubillus, JM; Vilela-Estrada, MA; Herrera-Arce, SA; Mejía-Morales, E; Mejia, CR (2017). "Consumption of traditional alcoholic beverages in children from a rural village in Northern Peru, 2017". F1000Research. 6: 1270. doi:10.12688/f1000research.12039.2. PMC 6259489. PMID 30542610.
  3. ^ Embleton, L; Atwoli, L; Ayuku, D; Braitstein, P (2013). "The journey of addiction: barriers to and facilitators of drug use cessation among street children and youths in Western Kenya". PLOS ONE. 8 (1): e53435. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053435. PMC 3541137. PMID 23326428.
  4. ^ Sommer, M; Kaaya, S; Kajula, L; Marwerwe, G; Hamisi, H; Parker, R (January 2021). "Social and structural determinants of youth alcohol use in Tanzania: The role of gender, social vulnerability and stigma". Global Public Health. 16 (1): 75–87. doi:10.1080/17441692.2020.1801792. PMC 7790840. PMID 32744916.
  5. ^ Onya, H; Tessera, A; Myers, B; Flisher, A (11 August 2012). "Community influences on adolescents' use of home-brewed alcohol in rural South Africa". BMC Public Health. 12: 642. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-642. PMC 3568054. PMID 22883212.
  6. ^ "Liquor". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Liquor". Collins Dictionary. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Jaegtvik, T; Schei, E (30 May 1999). "[Home-brew and alcohol drinking of adolescents]". Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening : Tidsskrift for Praktisk Medicin, NY Raekke. 119 (14): 2010–4. PMID 10394274.
  9. ^ Stockwell, T; Crosbie, D (1 July 2001). "Supply and demand for alcohol in Australia: relationships between industry structures, regulation and the marketplace". The International Journal on Drug Policy. 12 (2): 139–152. doi:10.1016/s0955-3959(01)00079-2. PMID 11399417.
  10. ^ Bhaichand Patel (19 October 2009). Happy Hours: The Penguin Book of Cocktails. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 206 ff. ISBN 978-81-8475-162-8.
  11. ^ David Shaftel (2011-11-23). "Boom time for country liquor". Livemint. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  12. ^ Ratna Bhushan & Boby Kurian (2008-01-22). "Manufacturing norms for country liquor on anvil". Times of India. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  13. ^ "Desi daroo - definition of Desi daroo". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  14. ^ "Women vandalize country liquor shop". The Times of India. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  15. ^ "Women protest against sale of illicit liquor". The Times of India. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  16. ^ "Women protest against liquor shop". The Hindu. 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  17. ^ "Pay for Scotch drink Illicit Desi daru - News". Mid-day. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  18. ^ "86 Deaths Blamed on Toxic Indian Moonshine". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  19. ^ "42 People In India Have Died After Drinking Toxic Alcohol". BuzzFeed. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  20. ^ Craig, Tim (2014-10-08). "In dry Pakistan, deaths from toxic liquor continue". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  21. ^ Hector Castro (7 December 2005). "City could soon widen alcohol impact areas". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. [dead link]
  22. ^ Alcohol Impact Area Information and Updates Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, City of Seattle website.
  23. ^ "Tacoma Alcohol Impact Area Press Release". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20.
  24. ^ "Spokane Alcohol Impact Area Press Release" (Press release). Archived from the original on 2012-03-20.
  25. ^ a b Mittelman, Amy (2008). Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer. Algora Publishing. p. 197. ISBN 9780875865744. malt liquor liquors.
  26. ^ a b c Davidson, D. Kirk (2003). Selling Sin: The Marketing of Socially Unacceptable Products. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 113–5. ISBN 9781567206456.
  27. ^ a b Bowie, Norman E.; Schnieder, Meg (2011). Business Ethics For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118020623.
  28. ^ Shaw, William H. (2013). Business Ethics: A Textbook with Cases. Cengage Learning. p. 311. ISBN 9781285415178.
  29. ^ Cortese, Anthony J. (2007). Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 123. ISBN 9780742568761.
  30. ^ "Charging on to success: Brahma bull continues on Schlitz commercial". Kent State University. Daily Kent Stater. 24 September 1981. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  31. ^ Shimp, Terence A.; Andrews, J. Craig (2012). Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. Cengage Learning. p. 98. ISBN 978-1133709381.
  32. ^ a b Brenkert, George G. (2014). "Marketing to Inner-City Blacks: PowerMaster and Moral Responsibility". In Hovland, Roxanne; Wolburg, Joyce M.; Haley, Eric E. (eds.). Readings in Advertising, Society, and Consumer Culture. Routledge. p. 275. ISBN 9781317461364.
  33. ^ "'Power Master' Canned as Name of Potent Malt Liquor". Los Angeles Times. 2 July 1991. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  34. ^ winepros.com.au. "plonk". The Oxford Companion to Wine. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008.
  35. ^ Sheron, N; Chilcott, F; Matthews, L; Challoner, B; Thomas, M (August 2014). "Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK". Clinical medicine (London, England). 14 (4): 396–403. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.14-4-396. PMC 4952834. PMID 25099842.
  36. ^ "Gin kills 80 people in Uganda". Herald Sun. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  37. ^ a b "80 people die of methanol-laced gin in Uganda". The Gazette (Montreal). 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  38. ^ a b c d "Illegal banana gin 'kills 80' in Uganda". BBC. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  39. ^ a b c "Waragi Death Toll Rises to 80 in Kabale". TMC. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.