The company that owns Maker's Mark, the brand known for bottles that are hand-sealed with wax, is backing down from a decision to water down its whiskey.

Distillery stocks in China tumble this week after the government announced a ban on high priced spirits at state events.

Faced with the costs of alcoholism and alcohol-related crime, Britain's government wants to introduce a mandatory minimum price for alcohol. Cheap drink is believed to cost the country billions of dollars each year.

A new study in the journal Lancet says lack of exercise now causes as many deaths as smoking. And according to the latest figures, obesity costs Americans about $200 billion a year in medical expenses. So perhaps it makes sense that for the first time, Americans polled by Gallup see obesity as a bigger problem than smoking or alcohol consumption.