Deaths linked to drug use reached a new high in 2017, with increases in cocaine fatalities and suicides contributing to the rise.

If anyone in Ireland sustains an illusion that we do not have an alcohol abuse problem in this country, the latest report from the Health Research Board (HRB) offers a sobering reminder of a grim reality.

There has been a massive increase in people who have already developed a severe drinking problem by the time they seek help, new figures show.

There has been a 50% surge in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine — marking the largest annual increase in what is a growing trend over the last seven years.

Binge drinking among low to moderate risk drinkers is responsible for most of the alcohol-related harm that occurs in Ireland.

Long-awaited minimum unit pricing will help reduce the risk of fire deaths, says Alcohol Action Ireland.

Social media companies can do more than delete accounts spreading false information – they could “badge” those that are reputable sources of information, said Health Minister, Simon Harris.

The European Drug Report details the latest trends across the main drugs.

Almost 9,000 people were treated for problem drug use in 2017.

Problem cocaine use is on the rise, with the number of cases of cocaine addiction jumping by 32% between 2016 and 2017.

Growing numbers of people have developed a “severe” alcohol problem by the time they seek treatment, an official report shows.

There were 86 admissions of children to adult psychiatric units in 2017, a jump of 28% on the previous year.

Treatment for cocaine use has surged with numbers jumping by 70% in the past four years.

A cocktail of drugs is involved in two out of three fatal overdoses, according to new figures.

A total of 151 people died in psychiatric hospitals and units in Ireland in 2016.

There is “concrete evidence” to support the introduction of an automatic three-month disqualification for anybody caught drink driving, the Road Safety Authority has claimed.

Young people, singletons, and unskilled workers accounted for some of the highest admission rates to psychiatric units last year, according to a report from the Health Research Board (HRB).

Health experts have urged the Government to introduce long-promised minimum pricing laws in a bid to break our love affair with alcohol.

Harmful drinking “is the norm” in this country, according to new data released by the Health Research Board.

One in four deaths of young men aged from 15 to 39 in Ireland is due to alcohol and drink is a factor in half of all suicides, according to the Health Research Board.

The Health Research Board has invested €5.7m in research teams whose findings will inform decision-making in the key areas of suicide prevention, safe prescribing, dementia care, and team leadership in the health services.

Ireland will need 4,380 new residential, day and residential support places between now and 2019 to meet the needs of people with an intellectual disability who do not currently avail of these services.

Irish people had to spend €130 more per person in 2014 than in 2007 to get the same level of healthcare.

Ground-breaking work on pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication of late pregnancy, has earned experts at the Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (Infant), based at UCC and Cork University Maternity Hospital, an award from the American Heart Association.

The number of people being treated for medical issues caused by alcohol continues to fall, according to figures.

There is no absolute evidence that adding fluoride to drinking water has a negative effect on health.

People who experience traumatic events in childhood, such as abuse or having a parent in jail, are 60% more likely to develop multiple chronic diseases as adults, research has found.

While their school hopes the success helps their case for a new science room, the parents of the country’s top young scientists are looking forward to seeing their bright young kids a little bit more.

Former drugs minister Róisín Shortall has said the Government does not have “the political will” to implement two-year-old plans to tackle legal drugs implicated in over 150 deaths a year.

A leading addiction service has sought the expertise of the Bar Council to draft proposed laws which would allow addicts to legally inject heroin in a medical setting.

More than 12 people a week die from overdoses or drug-related causes in Ireland, a new report shows.

The unforeseen health problems for long-term HIV sufferers due to their anti-retro viral drugs are to be examined as part of a €13.5m medical research funding drive.

Drug addicts who are dealing to feed their own habit should be diverted into treatment rather than prosecuted before the courts, according to an addiction service.

A landmark piece of research into Irish drug markets has revealed a trade more deeply entrenched than ever and delivers a sobering message that cannot be ignored, writes Cormac O’Keeffe.

The Government’s failure to invest, as promised, in a national biobank could jeopardise the storage of tissue samples vital for research in the development of new patient treatments, medical experts claimed.

Death rates from breast cancer are highest in Waterford, the suicide rate in Cork City outstrips anywhere else, and Limerick City has the highest infant mortality rate.

More than half of Irish drinkers — almost 1.4m people — consume alcohol in a "harmful" manner, yet 98% believe they are "light or moderate drinkers".

Most drinkers tend to see alcohol problems as really someone else’s, unless, maybe, they are victims of another person’s actions.

Long, long before alcohol was named as a factor in the appalling case at Longford Circuit Criminal Court yesterday morning, where a 47 year-old mother was sentenced to 14 years in jail for the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of her pre-teen daughter, we all knew that our national relationship with drink is not always a healthy one.

The disastrous smoking habits of the Irish have been highlighted in two new studies — we are far more prone than other Europeans to continue smoking after suffering a stroke and one in 10 of us cut back on food to fund our craving.