In Japan, known for its collectivism and high work productivity, alcohol is a means to relieve stress caused by constant group pressure and heavy workloads. Japanese people drink rarely – at family and corporate celebrations, but in huge doses. It is customary here to forgive a drunk person for breaking the complex system of daily etiquette, but not for breaking the law. Severe penalties are provided for drunk driving.
After holidays, the police take citizens who have had too much to drink home. And if the drunk's condition may harm their health, they are taken to a hospital and given medical assistance. But Japanese people usually do not need recovery from binge drinking – a severe hangover after a holiday discourages them from drinking for a long time. Alcoholism in Japan mainly affects pensioners and lonely women.
Moldova (the world leader in alcohol consumption in 2011) is today considered an agricultural country with a developed culture of industrial and home winemaking. Many rural residents here are accustomed to drinking wine daily in small amounts, and in significant doses on holidays. In the cellars of rural houses there are barrels of homemade wine with a capacity of hundreds of liters. But there are few outright alcoholics here – the abundance of this drink paradoxically dictates Moldovans the most reasonable attitude to alcohol possible in such conditions.
In the era of globalization, alcohol is beginning to penetrate many regions where there was previously a strict ban on its consumption. In the United Arab Emirates, in the emirate of Sharjah, alcohol consumption is a criminal offense. However, in the neighboring emirate of Umm al-Quwain, in a remote area in the middle of the bare desert, there is a large semi-legal supermarket "Barracuda", specializing exclusively in the sale of various types of alcohol. From there, alcohol is smuggled to many other emirates.
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