Study challenges Ireland's reputation as big drinkers

Our unenviable reputation as a nation of big drinkers is challenged by a new survey which shows Irish teens have reduced their weekly alcohol intake dramatically.

Moreover, the numbers getting drunk for the first time at age 13 or younger have decreased more dramatically in Ireland and Britain than in any of the other 34 countries included in a survey of Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC).

The study of 15-year-olds’ drinking habits across 36 countries in the World Health Organisation (WHO) European region identified a series of positive trends in Ireland/Britain, where the largest fall in weekly alcohol consumption was recorded for the period 2002-2014.

In 2002, 11.3% of girls in Ireland were drinking weekly, rising to 17.7% in 2006 before dropping down to 3.3% in 2014. For boys, the figure dropped from 14.2% in 2002 to 4.8% in 2014. For both sexes, the figure for 2014 was 4.1%, well below the HBSC average of 12.9%.

The study also recorded an 8.3% drop in prevalence of early drunkenness in Ireland among girls and a 14.1% decrease among boys between 2002-2014.

Findings specific to Ireland show:

• Weekly beer consumption among girls down 3.7%, wine consumption down 2.5%, weekly spirit intake down 6% (between 2002-2014)
• Weekly beer consumption for boys down 6.8%, wine down 0.7%, and spirits down 5.5% (2002-2014)
• Early alcohol initiation (first drink at age 13 or younger) down from 35.3% in girls to 19.9%, and down from 32.6% in boys to 16.5%

The study also shows a drop in the numbers consuming more than one type of alcohol per week.

The report says general decreases in consumption of beer, wine, spirits and alcopops were observed and may be linked “to important policy changes that have occurred, particularly in the Ireland/ Britain subregion, on availability and affordability; research shows strong evidence to suggest that increasing alcohol price is associated with reduced consumption”.

However it warns that “much work remains to be done to consolidate these positive trends”, including strengthening enforcement mechanisms of minimum-age drinking laws and implementation of health-oriented pricing policies.

It says another important policy measure “is to restrict or ban any form of alcohol marketing” including a total ban on alcohol marketing to children, as studies show “a close–response relationship between young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing and the likelihood that they will start to drink or drink more”.

The survey points out that cultural characteristics are among reasons given to explain the differences in drinking motivations among young people and that youngsters from countries classified as individualistic, such as Ireland, showed stronger social motivation, such as drinking with others and drinking to get drunk, than countries classified as collective.