Dangerous drinking harms 1.5m people

NEARLY 1.5 million people in Ireland are causing harm to themselves by the hazardous way they drink alcohol, according to the Government’s blueprint on tackling alcohol and illegal drugs.

A draft report of the National Substance Misuse Strategy 2009-2016 said this number accounts for over half of all adult drinkers, excluding the 20% of the population who don’t drink.

The strategy is the outcome of the work of a steering group set up to incorporate alcohol into the existing strategy which primarily dealt with illegal drugs.