I think it's a bit of both, to be honest. Attitudes to alcohol change because society itself changes. My parents' generation grew upto become older and change from a child into an adult in a time when drinking was just part and parcel of everyday lifea normal, natural part of life that you can't separate from it — a pint after work, wine with dinner, and nobody really thought twice aboutto stop and consider carefully before doing something, often because you're not sure it.

These days people are much more health-conscioussomeone who cares about their health and pays attention to what is good or bad for their body. They keep an eye onto watch something carefully or check it regularly what they eat and drink, they go to the gym, and a lot of them would rather stay sharpto keep your mind clear, quick, and able to think well than wake up with a hangoverto feel ill in the morning (headache, tiredness) after drinking too much alcohol the night before. But it's not only about being careful.

Young people today also have other ways to unwindto relax and stop feeling stressed or worried. They socialise online, they game, they meet up for coffee instead of hitting the pub. So drinking isn't the only option anymore. On top of thatin addition to that; used to add another point or reason, going out has become really expensive, so many simply can't afford to splash outto spend a lot of money on something, usually for pleasure or as a treat on a night of drinking. I'd say it comes down toused to say what the most important or basic part of something really is a mix of health, money and technology — and honestly, that's probably no bad thing.

I think tradition plays a big partto be one of the important reasons why something happens, but it isn't the whole story. In countries like France or Italy, having a glass of wine with dinner is completely normal, and it's been that way for generations. Culture and history really set the tone forto decide the general mood or style of something the way a whole nation drinks.

But climate and geography matter just as much. Wine-growing countries tend to drink wine simply because it's right on their doorstepvery close to where you live; nearby and easy to reach, while colder northern nations often go for stronger spiritsalcoholic drinks with a lot of alcohol in them, like vodka, whisky or gin to warm themselves up. Religion plays its part too — in some places drinking is frowned uponnot accepted by most people; seen as something you shouldn't do, and in others it's banned altogether.

And we shouldn't forget about money and the law. Where alcohol is cheap and easy to get hold ofto manage to find or buy something, people usually drink a fair bit more; where taxes are sky-highvery high (usually about prices or amounts), they tend to cut backto do or use less of something than before. So for me, it all boils down toto be, in the end, mainly about one main thing or reason a mix of things — history, climate, beliefs and prices all come into play. Tradition is really just the tip of the icebergonly the small part you can see of a much bigger problem or situation.

Honestly, I'm not sure it works as well as governments claim. The idea sounds simple — put up the priceto make something cost more than before and people will drink less. And to be fairused before you say something to make your opinion sound more balanced or reasonable, for some people on a tight budgethaving only a small amount of money to spend, higher taxes probably do make them think twice before buying another bottle.

But the problem is that heavy drinkerspeople who drink a lot of alcohol, often regularly don't always cut downto do or use less of something than before just because the price goes up. If someone is really hooked onnot able to stop using or doing something; addicted alcohol, they'll usually find the money somehow, even if it means going without other things. So the tax doesn't really get to the root ofto find the real cause of a problem so you can deal with it the problem.

Meanwhile, ordinary people who only have the odd glassan occasional drink; one now and then, not often at the weekend end up paying more for no real reason. In a way, it feels like everyone is being tarred with the same brushtreated as if you are as bad as other people, even when it isn't fair. For me, higher taxes on their own are never going to be a magic bulletone simple solution that is supposed to fix a difficult problem completely — you also need education and support if you really want to change the way people drink.