Noble experiment II: Selective prohibition

Vigorous policing of retail outlets with severe civil penalties would become practicable, while at the same time, criminals whose offending is related to consumption of alcohol would have their licence to buy alcohol either temporarily or permanently withdrawn. [...]penalties would apply to individuals who chose to assist their banned colleagues in purchasing alcohol. Besides criminals, the second group to be prohibited compulsorily from purchasing alcohol would be children. Evidence from the recent European School Survey Project (Hibell et al, 2000; World Health Organization, 2001) on alcohol and other drugs suggests otherwise, with British children reporting almost the highest rate of misuse of alcohol in Europe (Fig. 2). [...]there is no incompatibility with European human rights legislation, with its emphasis on public safety and the due process of law.