Our alcohol problem - We drink far more than is good for us

TWO new pieces of research, one Irish and one British, remind us of how powerful and insidious a drug alcohol is and how it can so easily become a damaging part of our lives.

Researchers at University College Cork have confirmed what most of us already knew but maybe wished away: one in five of us drink “excessively” every week. A “significant number of the population” drink far more than is recommended by international health experts. And, before you pour yourself a celebratory glass of wine, telling yourself that we’re talking about someone else, “excessively” in this instance means anything more than 10 pints or two bottles of wine a week.

As even the most responsible of social drinkers among us knows, you wouldn’t have to start with wine at lunch to cross that particular threshold, a finding confirmed by the UCC research.

Responses from 115 students and 133 graduates indicate a series of “dramatic changes” over recent decades have led to young people consuming far more alcohol than is recommended. Graduates felt 18 units a week was acceptable but the study found students will consistently consume in excess of 26.5 units each week.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends women to limit alcohol consumption to fewer than 14 units of alcohol per week and men to fewer than 21 units to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

The researchers have concluded that we are among the highest consumers of alcohol in Europe — drinking an average of 14.3 litres per year. So, whether we like it or not, and how it can grate, the cliché of the drunken Paddy is as true as ever it was, maybe even more so.

Coincidentally, Britain’s National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found drinking before the age of 15 increased a child’s risk of becoming a heavy drinker.

Parents who, with the very best of intentions, manage their children’s introduction to alcohol in the hope of encouraging responsible drinking might be doing more harm than good, the institute findings suggest. A teenager’s fast-developing brain becomes programmed to link alcohol with pleasure, experts now believe.

This suggestion has a considerable ring of truth to it and will make life even harder for parents who are trying to ensure that their children develop responsible drinking habits if they are to drink at all. Indeed, the data represented a good argument for delaying a young person’s introduction to alcohol as long as is possible.

There have been huge changes in our drink culture over recent years. It is no longer acceptable to drink and drive, hundreds of pubs have closed because of this. This has not been free of social cost and has led to a very hard-to-define but possibly huge increase in drinking at home and loneliness, with all the problems that brings.

There have been more reports and surveys on our drinking habits than we could wish for, yet it remains a huge problem for individuals, for families and for society. What is it that we don’t get about persistent, heavy drinking and a poor quality of life for ourselves and the people around us?

Maybe it is a case of cure me doctor, but not just yet.