Measures to curb drinking don’t work

ALCOHOL education in schools and colleges and voluntary codes of practice by the drinks industry do not work, according to a leading international expert.

Professor Griffith Edwards said fewer alcohol outlets, shorter opening hours and higher prices were the way to reduce alcohol-related problems.

“Reductions in the hours and days of sale, numbers of alcohol outlets, and restrictions on access are associated with reductions in both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems,” Prof Edwards told a conference in Trinity College Dublin.