ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the importance of considering anthropological work such as Heath's landmark research when exploring drinking patterns and the cultural role of alcohol. Gin was first developed in Holland in the mid seventeenth century and by the early eighteenth century had been introduced to Britain by soldiers returning from the Continent. Warner has argued that the public outcry was, in part, due to the changes in alcohol consumption patterns that gin prompted. Yeomans has observed that the reaction to the gin craze differed from later, nineteenth-century British temperance movements as reformers did not typically view alcohol itself as the problem rather, the harms resulting from excessive consumption were the focus of reformers' concern. Engs has explored how historical factors may have impacted the development of different drinking patterns across Europe, resulting in different drinking cultures that still affect alcohol consumption patterns today. The chapter examines the public opinion, and its role in encouraging the adoption of alcohol policies.
