Drink ‘may produce blighted generation’

IRELAND faces the prospect of a blighted generation if something is not done to tackle the country’s chronic alcohol problem, the Eastern Regional Health Authority (EHRA) warned yesterday.

Authority chairman Joe Doyle said it was no accident that Ireland recently moved from 12th to second position for the world ranking in alcohol consumption.

"Drink companies have specifically targeted young people and particularly girls through advertising and product development," he charged.

Mr Doyle also blamed the licensing trade for accommodating excessive consumption.

"As citizens and parents we have not only allowed this to happen but have participated in it."

The chairman, who was opening an EHRA conference on alcohol in Malahide, Co Dublin, also hit out at the practice of parents using pubs as a social scene for children's celebrations such as first holy communion and confirmation.

He called for the establishment of a body to combat alcohol abuse along the lines of the Office of Tobacco, which everyone agreed had done excellent work.

Director of corporate affairs with Diageo Ireland Pat Barry said the drink companies had been putting a lot of effort to ensure that young people were not targeted in promotional campaigns.

Obviously, he said, there were products that appealed to different people that was a fact of life. But, he insisted, all products were marketed and promoted in a responsible way.

Chief executive of Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society (MEAS) Fionnuala Sheehan said the responsibility to minimise alcohol abuse must be a shared one.

MEAS, whose origins lie in the umbrella organisation the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), supports the Responsible Serving of Alcohol Programme run by Fáilte Ireland. By the end of this year, 1,400 bar workers will have completed the programme.

Ms Sheehan said the principles of responsible serving were being incorporated in hospitality programmes being offered by institutes of technology.