Neo-prohibitionism

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Neo-prohibitionism is a current effort to curb alcohol use by passing laws and policies that restrict its sale, possession, and marketing. The goal is to lower the amount people drink and shift social norms so drinking is less acceptable. The term is usually used critically to describe groups or individuals, not the groups themselves.

A well-known example involves Candace Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who later left the organization and called it neo-prohibitionist, saying, “MADD has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned … I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving.” Critics point to leaders who have called for criminalizing all driving after any drinking.

In Europe, the World Health Organization’s 1992 Alcohol Action Plan aimed to steadily reduce per capita alcohol consumption and was criticized as crypto-prohibitionism.

Scholars at many universities have studied and discussed neo-prohibitionism, including George Mason University, Ohio State University, Brown University, Indiana University, the University of Houston, the University of Western Ontario, the University of California San Diego, Washington University in St. Louis, the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Kean University.