Real cost of drink abuse will be felt in 20 years

WE’RE LOSING the battle against alcohol, but the real cost of damage being done by alcohol misuse in Ireland will be felt over the next 20 years, an international expert has warned.

Dr Ann Hope, of Trinity College and a former member of the EU expert group on alcohol and health, also said the Celtic Tiger and poor policy choices by the Government have contributed to the high level of alcohol-related harm.

“We are losing the battle against alcohol-related harm, but the real cost will be felt over the next 20 years,” she said.

She claimed information campaigns, education, individual responsibility and self-regulation did not work. Also, poor policy choices such as no tax increases on drink, longer opening-hours, free movement of licences and below-cost selling of alcohol were contributing to problems.

Dr Hope, a member of the HSE Alcohol Implementation Group, said what was lacking was a coherent approach by the Government across various departments and an implementation plan with specific objectives. She believed alcohol should be combined with the national drugs strategy so as to have one programme dealing with substance-related problems.

“I would encourage communities to take the lead by working together to reduce alcohol problems. Strategies must be based on what works and not on what is popular, but ineffective,” she added.

Dr Hope said policies needed to target the total drinking population as well as high risk groups and individuals.

Also at the conference, the policy of having thousands of addicts on methadone was questioned.

Dublin councillor Nicky Keogh claimed there was no incentive for the 15,000 methadone addicts to get back to normal life and methadone was seen as a “be-all and end-all situation”.

Leading American expert, Professor Thomas Babor, said substitute addictions such as methadone had advantages, including reduction in crime and an improvement in the lives of many people.

However, he said the provision of methadone was not enough in itself.

“We need education, jobs and social services to be built around methadone. Many people on methadone may have other problems as well,” Prof Babor said.