A brief history of alcohol

Following this, tools for the production of wine have been discovered in China, dating back to 7,000 BC, and by 4,000 BC, wine had started to appear in Egyptian pictographs. The ancient Greeks wrote at length about the positive and negative effects of alcohol.

Many of the great philosophers had strong opinions on the subject: Plato, right, believed: "He was a wise man who invented beer."

He and his contemporaries were, however, strongly critical of drunkenness. During the time of the Roman Republic and Empire, trade in wine and other alcoholic beverages grew enormously and gold wine vessels as well as more prosaic urns are often found in ancient shipwrecks.

The large-scale distillation of alcohol into spirits marked the next phase in its history.

The late 15th century appears to be the earliest documented record of distilling whisky in Scotland, which was sufficient to produce almost 1,500 bottles.

Meanwhile, distilled spirits from grain, often flavoured with juniper, became immensely popular in Britain.

In 1690 parliament even passed a law to encourage, "the distillation of Brandy and Spirits from Corn."

This led to a massive surge in gin production and consumption, which was quickly blamed for widespread health problems and social unrest.

During the early 18th century, the mortality rate from gin was thought to be so high that it actually stabilised London's rapidly growing population.

Concern over the effects of gin on British society led to the Gin Acts, of 1736 and 1751 respectively, which taxed and regulated the production and sale of gin.

In 19th century America, spirits were produced and drunk in huge quantities.

This led to the beginning of the prohibition movement, which sought to ban all forms of alcohol across the United States.

Prohibition reached its climax with the National Prohibition Act in 1919, which led to the banning of the sale and manufacture of alcohol across the US between 1920 and 1933.

Owing to the massively lucrative trade in black market alcohol during that period, prohibition is widely regarded as having done more to boost organised crime than any other act in the history of the nation.

The famous Chicago gangland boss Al Capone, left, who thrived during the era, famously said: "Prohibition has made nothing but trouble."

During the decades after the Second World War alcohol became much more available with supermarket sales and a relaxed licensing regime.

The legendary American crooner Frank Sinatra, right, who rose to prominence during the era, said: "I feel sorry for people who don't drink.

"They wake up in the morning and that's the best they are going to feel all day."

In Britain, the late 20th century and early 21st have seen widespread increases in public drunkenness.

The legendary Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer George Best, who died from the affects of alcohol abuse in 2005, said: "I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars – the rest I just squandered.

"In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol and it was the worst 20 minutes of my life."