Doctors urge new attitude to drink

Doctors have called for a multi-disciplinary approach to combating alcohol-related problems and said legislation alone is not enough.

The Irish College of General Practitioners said yesterday that it supports the Alcohol Forum’s work as part of Alcohol Awareness Week in highlighting the problems created by alcohol dependency in Ireland.

With Ireland now ranked fifth-highest in the EU for alcohol consumption and the problem linked to more than 60 medical conditions, GPs are providing screening services and “brief interventions” to more and more patients who attend with alcohol issues.