Bad lifestyle means we die younger than EU average

WE pay more for alcohol every week than we spend on our telephone and petrol combined, a survey has found.

Approximately €17 is spent on petrol each week and €13.25 on phone calls. However, alcohol remains one of the biggest expenditures, averaging €31.64 per person.

And although public expenditure on health has risen from €3.82bn in 1997 to an estimated €8.17bn in 2002, there are still many areas in which there has been little change since the introduction of new policies, according to the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA).