The 2014 Euro Health Consumer Index shows that Ireland is in 35th place out of 36 countries for binge drinking. Bosnia-Herzegovina is in first place, Italy is sixth, and Scotland 36th.
The 2014 Euro Health Consumer Index shows that Ireland is in 35th place out of 36 countries for binge drinking. Bosnia-Herzegovina is in first place, Italy is sixth, and Scotland 36th. The new Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 will reduce alcohol consumption by introducing minimum unit pricing (MUP), health labelling, regulating the sponsorship of some events – unfortunately not sports – and restricting, to some extent, the advertising and marketing of alcohol products. According to the Bill, “Together with pricing, the control of advertising has been identified as an effective method to reduce harmful use of alcohol.”
Almost all the media coverage of the Bill referred to Ireland’s drinking culture, attitudes to alcohol and drinking patterns, and not the real culprits: alcohol advertising, marketing, sponsorship and the overall regulatory environment.
Irish culture has not caused binge drinking any more than our eating culture has increased levels of obesity. The food and beverage industry, with its relentless pursuit of growth and increased consumption of its products, is to blame for both health problems.
A few days after the Bill’s publication, a new Diageo-funded campaign, Stop Out-of-Control Drinking, was announced. Campaign members are well known and, no doubt, well meaning. The chairman of the board is Fergus Finlay of Barnardos and the other members are a GP, a psychologist, a psychotherapist, an entrepreneur, an actor, a county councillor and representatives from Diageo Ireland, Dublin City University, the National Parents’ Council, Sport for Business, Irish Smart Ageing Exchange, Irish Rugby Union Players Associations, MyMind, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Solamh, and the Labour Relations Commission.
The campaign is up and running for only a few weeks and has already got it wrong. The focus is on binge or out-of-control drinking, not on overall consumption.
Source: Jacky Jones, Irish Times, 10/03/15
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