As a nation, the Irish have traditionally had a high tolerance for excessive "social" drinking, especially around the festive season. Many of the effects of our collective alcohol dependence and misuse remain hidden from sight, just like an iceberg under water, but a potential timebomb nonetheless, for the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and Ireland Inc.
I believe it's high time to wake up to the fact that what is considered "social drinking" in this country is, in many cases, damaging your health, sometimes fatally, and detrimental to your well-being. In so many respects, alcohol is a subtle destructive force in Irish society.
We need to blow the lid off the silence that surrounds alcohol in this country and to ask ourselves openly and honestly how much we are drinking and how it is affecting our physical and psychological health, our emotional vitality, relationships and well-being.
Many people are aware of the link between excess alcohol consumption over many years and the increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver. But what about the other 60 medical conditions that alcohol increases the risk of, including physical conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity; psychological health issues including anxiety, panic attacks, low self-esteem and depression, emotional repression, and damaged relationships?
The Department of Health's hard- hitting Steering Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy (2012) revealed that alcohol misuse was responsible for at least 88 deaths every month in 2008 and one in four deaths in young men.
It is a contributory factor in half of all cases of suicide and deliberate self-harm. It is a trigger factor in one-third of domestic violence and abuse cases and adult alcohol abuse leads to 16pc of child abuse and neglect cases. The list goes on and on!
As a family doctor, I see people developing cirrhosis of the liver who claim to have never been drunk yet they still consume 60 to 70 standard drinks of alcohol a week. (There are typically two standard drinks of alcohol in a pint of beer, one standard drink in a pub measure of spirits and one to two standard drinks in a glass of wine, depending on the size.) Research carried out by Lundbeck in 2012 showed that 40pc of people knew at least one person close to them who drank every day and 67pc of those who were involved in 'at-risk drinking' were happy with their own consumption.
Research carried out this year by the same healthcare company on adults over 30 showed that during any single drinking session, one in three men and one in two women drink at a high-risk level, with men consuming seven or more drinks in any single drinking occasion and women consuming four or more drinks in any single drinking occasion. Over three-quarters of those surveyed agreed that alcohol was central to how people relaxed and socialised.
Source: Dr Mark Rowe, Irish Independent, 20/12/13
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