Counsellor warns against Alcopops

ALCOPOPS are destructive drinks that should be banned, an addiction counsellor said yesterday.

The popular drinks make it far too easy for young people to consume alcohol in dangerous quantities, said Rolande Anderson, Irish College of General Practitioners’ project director on patients with alcohol problems.

Mr Anderson said while the 35 cent increase per bottle was a step in the right direction, it would make little, if any, difference in young people’s drinking habits.

“I personally would be happy to see alcopops banned because it makes it too easy for young people to consume drink with a high alcohol content.

“But at least the Government is starting to take seriously the awful problem we have with alcohol,” Mr Anderson commented.

Responding to criticism from Opposition parties about the lack of action, Tanaiste, Mary Harney, said yesterday that EU law prevented the Government from imposing an even higher duty on alcopops. Ms Harney said the Government would have liked to do more, but was not permitted to do so.

A recent study by the Mater Hospital in Dublin found 13% of people who end up in accident and emergency departments are drunk. The figures show that 40% of people end up in casualty because of alcohol-related incidents.

Fine Gael’s spokesperson on Justice, John Deasy, believes that Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy missed an opportunity to address the epidemic of youth alcohol abuse in Ireland.

“The 35 cent increase on alcopops will do absolutely nothing to address the problem. These days young people have part-time jobs and use the money to go drinking.”

Mr Deasy said if the drinks can’t be banned their price should be doubled. “What had happened was a PR attempt to make people believe that the Government is doing something about this. If this is the alternative to putting 2,000 gardaí on the streets, then we are in trouble.”

Pat Barry, director of Corporate Affairs for Diageo Ireland, who make Smirnoff Ice, said increasing taxation wasn’t an effective way of dealing with alcohol abuse.

He accepted that alcohol abuse and binge drinking were problems that needed to be tackled but it was a very complex matter.