David Lane, co-ordinator of the HSE’s Southern Region Drugs & Alcohol Taskforce, said his services deal with around 2,000 people in the region every year and for 85% of them, alcohol is their main drug.
He told a Cork County joint policing committee (JPC) meeting more than 1.1m people in this country drink harmfully.
Mr Lane said he welcomed the new national drug and alcohol plan published during the summer which, for the first time, recognised the harm that alcohol was causing.
“It’s very rare that the people we see will be using just one substance, but alcohol is the primary drug,” he said.
Mr Lane said minimum unit pricing was needed along with restrictions on marketing and advertising of alcohol.
“When I was younger alcohol wasn’t as freely available as it is today,” he said.
“You can now get it in your local garage.
“We’ve become immune to having beer and wine next to milk in our fridges and children see this.”
He said, fortunately, the HSE had invested significantly in addiction services.
“In 2008 we were working with around 1,000 people a year.
Source: Sean O’Riordan, The Irish Examiner, 24/10/17
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