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Slovenia adjusts to booze ban
By Ales Gaube, Transitions Online
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- In the wake of alarming statistics on alcoholism, the Slovenian government is making booze harder to get. Every fifth man and every 25th woman in Slovenia is an alcoholic. For a country with two million people, that means 173,000 addicts and the government is sounding the alarm bells. It has passed an anti-alcohol bill that some have already labelled prohibition. Sure, Slovenes like to toss back a glass or two. The country has a deep-rooted tradition of wine making, beer brewing and home distilling. And booze is easily accessible. It is no problem for a teenager to get hold of a drink for parties, or even to buy a glass of beer at the pub after school. Meanwhile workers like to sip sadjevec, a liquor made from mixed fruits, with their coffee at cafes in the early morning, while children are on their way to school. But when the health ministry presented the problem in figures, the government was shocked. The statistics place Slovenia at the top of the list of worldwide alcohol consumption. This is not a title the government wants. The average Slovenian over the age of 15 consumed 10.9 litres of pure alcohol in 2000. On average, that means 103 litres of beer, 41.5 litres of wine and more than one litre of spirits per person. Alcohol is damaging the nation's health and the economy. An average of 154,396 working days per year were lost over the past decade to alcohol-related sickness or accidents indirectly caused by drink. Alcohol is directly responsible for more than 500 deaths each year, says the ministry. In addition, in 2000, drunk drivers caused 38 percent of all fatal car crashes. The government responded on January 28, when parliament approved the anti-alcohol bill by 37 votes to 12. Once the bill is implemented, minors will no longer be able to buy alcohol. Booze will be removed from vending machines. Sporting facilities will ban alcohol sales one hour before the start of an event and workplaces will be dry. Stores and gas stations will be prohibited from selling alcohol between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. and bars will not be allowed to sell hard liquor before 10 a.m. Establishments serving booze will be required to have at least two soft drinks on their menus that cost the same or less than the cheapest alcoholic drink. But some parliamentary deputies say the law represents prohibition. The head of the Slovenian Nationalist Party, Zmago Jelincic, says it will do more harm than good, predicting a rise in black market production and overall consumption. "The law is bad, not well thought out, and stupid. Therefore, it will be bad for Slovenian citizens, for the economy and for the indigenous culture, of which a glass or two always will be a part," said Jelincic. Another deputy from the governing Liberal Democrats is more optimistic. Tone Partljic, a former alcoholic, says alcoholism is a disease that many people want to hide, making up all manner of excuses for health problems that are clearly caused by drink. Partljic thinks the bill will help people come to terms with their drinking problems. He says it has been a great challenge to overcome alcoholism, but now he is proud to say he is cured. But people he visits say they will be offended if he does not try just one glass of their home-made wine or hard liquor. "Only after I mention that I am a recovering alcoholic do they miraculously stop pushing me into drinking," adds Partljic.
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