Why is there no outrage or call for a ban on this?!?

Question

45,000 people in the U.S. alone die EVERY YEAR from alcohol related auto wrecks.

i hear ppl and celebrities protest, call for a ban on the war where in 6 yrs. almost 4,000 soldiers have died in a combat zone but not one word of protest and not call from anyone to ban alcohol.

none of you really read the post, its not about banning alcohol ! it's about why don't we do something, anything to stop this 'war' at home where 45 plus thousand per year are dying needlessly and it's not slowing or stopping.

Answer 1

I don't get it either. Alcohol is legal but marijuana is not. I've never heard of a traffic related death by someone under the infulence of pot. Worst case scenario: Everyone would be driving 5 in a 70 and road rage would not be an issue. I say ban alcohol, legalize pot.

Answer 2

So, many people die or get injured because of drunk drivers every year. Alcohol is ingrained in the American society and it is a part of most social events. People do not consider it a party without alcohol. Advertisements relate fun = alcohol!
Alcohol destroys thousands of homes and it is almost always involved in a violent, abusive households involving women and children. Yet the American public will never let go of it! The tobacco industry has been held responsible for deaths related to smoking which is great! But the alcohol industry is considered a great American institution!

Answer 3

What, because Prohibition worked so well? Prohibition brought us orgnized crime and the drive-by shooting. Yipee. The lesson to be learned is really that banning drugs simply doesn't work. The 'War on Drugs' is, of course, further proof. You know one drug that has been successfully curtailed: nicotine. Tobacco hasn't been banned in the USA, but fewer people use it every year, because of decades-long anti-smoking campaigns.

Tell people - especially young people - "you can't do that" and they'll try to figure out how to get away with doing it.

Answer 4

The same reason they raise taxes on cigarettes, but not alcohol... Alcohol is enjoyed by FAR too many people to enact a "ban": besides we saw the wonders (crime, gangs, and murder) that Prohibition brought us.

Also of course, Alcohol TAXES provide the state and federal governments with BILLIONS of dollars each year.

And there are CONSTANT protests by MADD and STRICT laws regarding Driving Under the Influence (as well as boating, walking, flying..).

BANNING anything only creates a criminal / black market for the product, fills the jails, and creates more troubles.

THINK before you speak

Answer 5

As Prohibition and the "War on Drugs" have taught us, you can't legislate private behavior. What you can legislate is the penalty for DUI (DWI).

Many states have expanded these laws to include driving while impaired (sleepy, OTC and prescription medications) and driving while distracted (talking on a cell phone, eating, putting on makeup).

A recent study showed that driving while talking on a cell phone is actually worse than driving while drunk, and far worse than driving while stoned.

Until Americans exhibit some common sense, we'll always have needless deaths on the road.

This issue, however, has nothing to do with sending our best and brightest to fight in another country's civil war.

Answer 6

Uh, your details decry that there hasn't been a call to ban alcohol.

Then you say you didn't say that.

What is it, exactly, that you would have people do?

It's illegal to drive while impaired.

People are arrested for it, and lose their licenses, and even do time for it.

So what are you advocating?

If you aren't advocating a ban on alcohol, why did you say "not one word of protest and not call from anyone to ban alcohol"?

Who would people protest against?

How?

What is that expected to accomplish?

War protests are people's way of letting the administration know that we oppose their criminal behavior.

They are targeted at the group who started this war.

It's unclear what you think should be done about drunk driving.

(BTW, it was in my lifetime that drunk driving began to be treated seriously -- it was MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers who did it, by putting pressure on legislatures to write tough laws and to get them enforced.)

Answer 7

Has it gone up that much? The last time I checked it was almost up to 18,000. I hate seeing those numbers go up. I don't drink alcohol and I can't even stand the smell of it. You are very right but they won't ban the booze cause they make too much money off the taxes. I think much harsher fines for drunk driving and maybe low jacking them after they've been caught the first time.

Answer 8

We tried that in the 1920's & prohibition brought about racketeering, bootlegging & corruption on an unprecedented scale.
Although alcohol may be an important social issue, I think an unpopular war & the deaths of many young men & women in uniform should take precedence in the public consciousness.

Answer 9

Because the government makes a lot of money through alcohol tax. Its also the reason cigarettes aren't banned. If they did ban both alcohol and cigs they would have to increase tax somewhere else - mortgages, fuel, electricity, water etc.

Answer 10

It's already been tried, and it failed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States

a more realistic approach would be to limit advertising for alcoholic products, much like they did in the 80's with cigarette ads, and also better education about the effects of alcohol. Most people are of the mindset that if it's legal, it's ok. There's nothing wrong with drinking, as long as you can do so responsibly. If you cannot be responsible with your actions, then drinking isn't for you.