Swiss lift ban on absinthe herbal liqueur

The Swiss Parliament has voted to end a 96-year ban on absinthe, the mythical herbal liqueur beloved of artists at the turn of the century and blamed for driving some of them mad.

The Swiss banned the "green fairy" in 1908, after a factory worker killed his wife and two children in a bout of madness blamed on the drink.

It was allowed back into shops in much of western Europe in 1981, but remained outlawed in non-member Switzerland.