Study: One in five drink to excess

ONE in five Irish people drink “excessively” every week, with a significant number of the population drinking far more than international health recommendations.

Research by the department of general practice at UCC shows that despite the vast majority of Irish people believing they have normal consumption levels, our unwanted reputation as a nation of drunks continues to have a grain of truth to it.

According to the research — based on the responses of 115 UCC students and 133 graduates to questions about their weekly drinking habits — a series of “dramatic changes” in recent decades has led to young people consuming far more alcohol than recommended.

While graduates felt that a weekly drinking level of 18 units was acceptable, the study has shown that students will consistently consume in excess of 26.5 units of alcohol per week.

Highest graduate consumption levels reached the outer parametres of World Health Organisation recommendations.

The WHO recommends women limit alcohol consumption to fewer than 14 units of alcohol per week and men to fewer than 21 units as part of a healthy lifestyle.

With alcohol consumption increasing per capita by 41% between 1989 and 2001, the researchers have concluded that Ireland’s drink problem now means our adults are among the highest consumers of alcohol in Europe — drinking an average of 14.3 litres of alcohol per year.

Despite high profile health warnings, the researchers have warned that “Irish people continue to drink excessively”. This situation, they added, “raises questions about the level of awareness of what constitutes an excess alcohol intake and potential effects of alcohol on health in the Irish population”.

A single unit of alcohol roughly equates to half a pint of beer, allowing for a drinking level of seven pints a week for women and 11 for men according to WHO guidelines.

However, the researchers have found that students are regularly drinking 26.5 units of alcohol a week — equal to about 14 pints.

“The report of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol, from September 2004, recommended the provision of information and education to promote an understanding of alcohol use and its potential risks... From the above results we can conclude that the fulfilment of this aim is crucial,” the researchers noted.

“There is a definite awareness that as a nation we are drinking too much alcohol and to this end the campaigns are succeeding.

“However, the message is not registering with people at a personal level. Almost half of the people found to be drinking excessively in this study did not realise they were doing so.”