The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) has severely criticised an information leaflet on alcohol abuse produced by the drinks industry. It describes the document as a cynical attempt to normalise teenage drinking.
Mr Rolande Anderson, the Director of the ICGP Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems project said that Alcohol - A Guide for Parents, which has been circulated to schools, contains "serious omissions".
Acknowledging that some of the information in the industry leaflet represents sensible advice for parents, the critique from the representative body for general practitioners says that "there is no attempt whatsoever to quantify moderate drinking and no specific advice to parents to restrict access or to help their children to postpone the decision to drink".
Questioning why the industry publication - produced by an organisation called Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society - does not acknowledge that we differ in how we drink, Mr Anderson states: "There is no mention of binge drinking, an amazing exclusion given that Irish youth are top of the international league [for this activity]. Alcopops are not considered and there is no information on the alcohol content of different drinks."
The ICGP response is especially critical of a section titled: Are they having sex?
"The impact that alcohol has on sexually transmitted disease, assaults and pregnancies is not mentioned. The whole point around the alarming increase in sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and sexual assaults is that children are far more vulnerable when drunk. It is not simply a matter of emphasising that sexual activity is always their choice."
Pointing out that the language and content of the leaflet represents a danger that underage drinking be normalised, Mr Anderson says that, "at its worst, this leaflet is a cynical attempt to normalise teenage drinking. There are so many vital, and I would say dangerous, omissions that I can only conclude they are due to the bias of the vested interests who produced it."