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Henry Fielding, in his Enquiry into the Causes of the Late Increase of Robbery published in 1751, wrote: 'Should the drinking [of] this poison be continued at its present height during the next 20 years, there will by that time be very few of the common people left to drink it.' He was right: in that year alone, over 9,000 children died of drinking gin. But this was a watershed. The Gin Act of 1751 severely restricted the sale of gin, which cut the consumption at least to some extent.
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Another source of excitement for city dwellers was gambling. People laid bets on political events, births, deaths and whatever bizarre challenge was on offer, from drinking pints of gin to eating live cats. From 1709 to 1826, there was a state lottery and the prizes could be enormous. In 1769, there were two prizes in consecutive weeks, each of £20,000 (the equivalent of about £1.7 million today).
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