“Alcohol is not the answer; it just makes you forget the question”

“Alcohol is not the answer; it jsut makes you forget the question” is a saying that has been printed on several gift items, such as T-shirts, buttons and posters. The saying has been cited in print since at least 2004 and is of unknown origin.
 
In 2009, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was credited with saying, “Alcohol is not the answer to life’s question.” Vijay Mallya, an Indian industrialist born in 1955, was said to have responded, “At least it helps you forget the question.” Neither Gandhi’s statement nor Mallya’s reply appear to be documented in print before 2009—well after the alcohol joke had been included in many lists of one-line sayings.
 
Similar alcohol one-liners include “Alcohol is never the answer, unless the question is ‘What is C2H5OH?‘,“ “I know alcohol isn’t the answer, but it’s my best guess” and “I doubt vodka is the answer, but it’s worth a shot.”
 
     
Google Groups: hun.lists.mlf.linux++
KORN Andras
8/6/04
(...)
Alcohol is not the answer, but at least it makes you forget the question.
   
Google Groups: alt.christnet.christianlife
vera
9/8/05
One Liners from the Web: http://www.vegard.net/about/one-liners.php
(...)
33.. Alcohol is not the answer, it just makes you forget the question.
     
ManagementParadise.com
vengabeats
Inspirational one lines - April 7th, 2006
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Alcohol is not the answer, it just makes you forget the question.
 
Say Hey There
Beer is not the answer, but it makes you forget the question.
Jan. 26th, 2008 at 12:04 PM
 
Google Books
Mind the Gap:
The London Diaries
By Chris Fenner
Bloomington, IN: iUniverse
2009
Pg. 43:
ALCOHOL IS NOT THE ANSWER - IT JUST MAKES YOU FORCET THE QUESTION.
 
Funny Alcohol Quotes
preet Said,
January 4, 2009 @ 9:40 am
Gandhi said : Alcohol is not the answer to life’s question!!
Vijay Mallya said : Atleast it helps forget the question!!!
     
The Telegraph (UK)
Alcohol tycoon donates Gandhi’s £1.3m spectacles to the nation
With a business empire built on alcohol and a reputation for being the ‘King of Good Times’, Vijay Mallya’s life couldn’t be further removed from that of Mahatma Gandhi.
By Barney Henderson in Mumbai 4:27PM GMT 06 Mar 2009
(...)
Gandhi was a strict teetotaller and campaigned against its consumption. When faced with the Gandhi quote “Alcohol is not the answer to life’s question”, Vijay Mallya once responded “At least it helps you forget the question”.
 
LOL Zombie
Alcohol is not the answer. It just makes you forget the question.
27 Apr 2012
 
Accept the End of Something
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
ALCOHOL is not the answer, it just makes you forget the question.