A York pub has been plunged into controversy for serving a powerful, mind-bending spirit from Eastern Europe. Fibbers, in The Stonebow, is selling Absinthe - a strong green drink imported from the Czech Republic.

At 70 per cent proof, it has twice the potency of other spirits and contains a narcotic called thujone, which is said to be similar in effect to cannabis.

The spirit has been blamed for causing blindness, kidney failure and insanity. Vincent Van Gogh is said to have cut off his ear while under its influence.

At the end of last year, Home Office minister George Howarth described the drink's reappearance in Britain's fashionable bars as "a cause for deep concern."

President of the York branch of the Licensed Victuallers Association Mick Johnson believed the pub was just cashing in on the hype surrounding the drink.

Mr Johnson, who is landlord of The Magnet in Osbaldwick Road, said: "I suppose you have got to admire them for trying a new marketing ploy, but I think it's a shame they have to profit from gullible youth. They are just trying to use all the hype and sell the drink on its reputation.

"It's certainly not worth £6 a shot and I don't think it will take off. There are probably a lot of young people that might buy it once to try it but I don't think it will catch on.

The issue of Absinthe will be on the agenda at the York LVA's meeting on Tuesday next week.

Malcom Bray, counselling manager for York and Selby Alcohol Advisory Service said people should treat Absinthe with caution as with any other alcoholic drink.

Michelle Hodgen, co-owner of Fibbers Group, hit back at claims they were cashing in.She said the decision to stock Absinthe was prompted by demand from regular customers who had tried the drink in London.

She said: "I hardly think we are cashing in on the hype - we have only sold three shots since Friday.

"I think people are concerned about Absinthe because it is so strong - one shot is roughly the same as having four vodkas. Because of that high alcohol content we have limited its sale to two shots per person per night."

"We have a regular clientele and so we know who we are selling to. It is the sort of thing people might have a shot of on their birthday as a special treat. I don't think it's something that's going to take off in any way."

Absinthe is an aniseed and lemon-balm flavoured liquor which contains wormwood, an ancient herb once used to treat gout. Its active ingredient, thujone, is reputed to have an hallucinogenic effect.

Although banned in France in 1914, it was used in cocktails in London bars in the 1920s and 1930s.

A drinking ritual observed by hardcore "absinthistes" in Prague is to pour a shot, dip a teaspoonful of sugar into the green spirit, set this alight, allow the caramelising sugar to drip back in the glass, douse it in water and drink it.

see COMMENT 'Wise to abstain from Absinthe'

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