DO WE NEED STATE-CONTROLLED DRINKING?

Sharia practicing states of Nigeria have come hard on the consumption of alcohol but basically in conformity with the prescriptions of sharia penal code which has zero tolerance for alcohol consumption.

In States that are not practicing the sharia penal code, the consumption of alcohol remains virtually unregulated as against the practices in other climes.

Under minimum pricing of alcohol, the state dictates the cost, or at least the "floor" price, that pubs, clubs and supermarkets must charge for beer, wine and other drinks. While many medical organisations want ministers to go down that road to reduce alcohol-related harm, it is fiercely opposed by the drinks industry. But new evidence from Canada, the first country in the world to introduce minimum pricing, shows that stipulating how much pints of beer, measures of spirits and glasses of wine have to be sold for brings significant health benefits.

How Canada does it

Canada's 10 provincial governments have a degree of control over the alcohol trade that is unthinkable here in the UK, even if minimum unit pricing does finally get the go-ahead.

• They buy, supply and distribute almost all alcohol sold in Canada, as well as owning and running off-licences – known as liquor stores – which are usually larger than, and may outnumber, private off-licences. Most provinces also set minimum prices for anything between a few and all alcoholic products sold in the area.

• The key organisations involved are the provincial governments' liquor control boards, such as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which includes the cities of Toronto, Hamilton and London. The LCBO is typical of the boards in that it was set up in 1927, when outright prohibition of alcohol was in effect lifted in return for the provinces gaining control over the demon drink. LCBO describes itself as "an Ontario government enterprise and one of the world's largest buyers and retailers of beverage alcohol. Through more than 630 retail stores, catalogues and special order services, it offers nearly 19,000 products annually to consumers and licensed establishments."

• Liquor boards are useful earners for provincial governments, and their finance ministeries usually set them revenue goals. In 2011-12, LCBO sold a total of CAD$4.7bn of booze, generating a CAD$1.63bn dividend for the Ontario government. "This revenue helps pay for healthcare, education and other important services," it says.

• The businesses allowed to sell alcohol in the province are LCBO off-licences, The Beer Store – a chain jointly owned by several big brewers – and a few shops owned by wineries. In general, pubs, hotels, nightclubs and restaurants buy alcohol from provincial liquor boards.

• All 10 provinces have a government monopoly on the wholesaling of alcohol. Alberta is the only province where all alcohol retailers are privately owned. A few have only government-owned off-licences , but most have a mixture of public and private outlets.

• Nine of the 10 set minimum prices for at least one type of alcoholic drink bought at off-licences – again, Alberta is the exception; it has no minimum prices – while eight of the 10 have also established minimum prices for alcohol products bought at on-trade premises, such as bars and nightclubs.

• Most people working in Canada's alcohol and public health community believe these monopoly structures are good for health, says Tim Stockwell of the Centre for Addictions Research. "They facilitate the application of most of the policies we know to be effective for reducing alcohol-related harm – such as fixing prices so that they reflect alcohol content, keep up with inflation and don't permit very cheap alcohol; for restricting the number of liquor outlets per head of population – privatisation always leads to a proliferation of outlets which research clearly shows stimulates consumption and increases harms. Rates of age-ID checking had been shown to be significantly higher in government versus private outlets in studies conducted in some five countries in North America and Scandinavia; and trading hours tend to be shorter for government versus private stores."

Deriving from this therefore, do we need state-controlled drinking? Share your thoughts.