Over here in Europe (at least in Germany) you can buy as much Gin as you like in every supermarket - if you're over 18. I don't know if we have higher alcohol abuse numbers than countries with stricter laws but I doubt it. Does anyone have internationally comparable numbers?

EDIT: forgot: it's very cheap. If I remember correctly, you can get a one litre bottle for < 10 EUR - certainly not the best there is but "good enough" to get drunk as f* - even with little or no money