Pubdate: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 Source: The Examiner (Ireland) Contact: ALCOHOL FINDS KUWAIT'S BACK DOOR The brewers of Harp lager used to run a memorable ad showing an Irish exile sweating under a desert sun somewhere in the Arabian gulf, dreaming of a certain Sally O'Brien and a cool pint. Great ad, but nothing to do with reality, of course. Just in case anybody believes you can't get a drink in Muslim countries, where alcohol is banned, the latest reports from Kuwait are enlightening. Some $40 million was spent there on banned alcohol between 1992 and 1997. The Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper estimated that around two million litres of alcohol was consumed in the 1980s. The import and sale of alcohol is banned in tiny Kuwait, where a litre of whisky is worth more than $100 on the black market. And just to be sure to be sure, non-alcoholic beer is also banned in Kuwait. - --- Checked-by: Rolf Ernst