Alcohol kills one person a day in Ireland

Ireland has one of the highest death rates from alcohol in the world, as well as the second highest rate of binge-drinking, according to the World Health Organisation.

Three people are dying every day from alcohol-related ailments in this country, while 2,000 are in hospital at any one time being treated for the effects.

The amount of alcohol consumed has dropped over the past decade, but almost half of all drinkers admitted to heavy episodes of drinking in the previous month, compared to 16% globally.

The result is a high percentage of liver cirrhosis and about 200 other diseases, and deaths from ailments that would normally not kill such as pneumonia.

Men are drinking close to 20 litres of pure alcohol annually, more than double the quantity consumed by women, with the consequences clearly seen in the levels of alcoholism.

According to the study, around one Irish man in every 16 over the age of 15 years is addicted to alcohol, while one in 10 suffers from an ailment as a result of his use of alcohol. This is three times more than the number of women.

However, the study also shows that about 15% of men and 23% of women have not had an alcoholic drink in the past 12 months.

Alcohol Action Ireland, commenting on the report, called on the Government to implement the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. The group is particularly concerned about the figures for binge drinking, at 39% of Irish people.

Chief executive Suzanne Costello said: “This puts Ireland just behind Austria with 40.5% at the top of the 194 countries studied and well ahead of our neighbours in Britain at 28%.”

She said drunkenness has been made to appear normal in society, fuelled by the availability of cheap alcohol and heavy promotions.

Regarding the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, Ms Costello said that it would “replace the existing systems of alcohol industry self-regulation, which have proven to be wholly ineffective with regard to public health”.

The group believe the drop in per capita consumption was a result of the increase in excise duty. The World Health Organisation report shows that while beer consumption fell between 1998 and 2010, sprits and wine sales increased.

Dr Oleg Chestnov of the organisation said more needs to be done. “The report clearly shows that there is no room for complacency when it comes to reducing the harmful use of alcohol.”

Some countries are tackling the issue by increasing taxes on alcohol, limiting its availability, raising the age limit, and regulating marketing.

More than one third of the world’s population drinks alcohol, with the heaviest drinkers in Europe and Russia. A quarter of alcohol is home-brewed and half is spirits. The more affluent a society, the more alcohol tends to be consumed, and conversely, the poorer a person, the greater the harmful consequences, according to the report.