Drink lobby failure ‘hit suicide rate’

THE Government’s failure to confront the alcohol industry lobby has contributed to the high number of young male suicides.

That’s according to a Health Research Board study which said reducing alcohol use was the only sure-fire policy that would prevent suicide.

It said despite alcohol’s destructive impact, especially among young men, there was no coherent government policy and little prospect of one emerging.

The board’s analysis — on suicide, attempted suicide and prevention in Ireland and elsewhere — was published yesterday.

It said, given the culture surrounding alcohol, it was of little surprise young men were a high-risk category in suicide and road fatalities.

“These shortcomings are products of lack of a coherent and comprehensive national policy on alcohol-related problems. A powerful trade and political lobby and Government’s unwillingness to confront them gives little optimism for action in these sectors. This is disappointing in suicide prevention where so little evidence-based preventive measures exist,” it read.

The research found the rate of alcohol consumption has trebled in 50 years and was reflected in increased suicide deaths.

The research looked at trends in suicide dating back to 1864 but said it was difficult to compare figures because of changes in how it was viewed and recorded.

Historically there were peaks immediately before both world wars but the rate remained static until 1989 when it accelerated sharply.

The increase in suicides by young men has run contrary to all other trends across Europe.

After looking at a wide range of social and mental health trends, the HRB could not isolate the most dangerous individual traits.

Dr Dermot Walsh, principal investigator in mental health at the HRB, said it was difficult to predict who was at risk and reducing alcohol consumption was the only policy decision guaranteed to deliver positive results: “People take their own lives for a multitude of reasons. In truth, from the evidence available, we are unable to explain why young male suicide increased to such a high rate in 1998 any more than we can explain why it has fallen since.

“Suicide is actually a rare event and the risk factors can be very common. This is borne out in the fact many people report the suicide of a relative or friend came out of the blue,” he said.

The report is available at www.hrb.ie/publications.

Conclusions: Facts and risk factors

The estimated suicide rate has fallen by 14% from 2001 to 2006 particularly in young men but this has also been evident, to lesser degree, in older males.

Suicides in males aged 15–34 have increased from being 11.6% of all accidental, poisoning and violent deaths in 1980 to 44.2% in 2003.

Compared to other European countries, Ireland has a higher suicide rate among young men and less among older people.

There is little will to progress the preventive measure with most potential to impact on youth suicide — the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol.