Alcohol consumption increases 17%

Alcohol consumption in Ireland went up by 17 per cent between 1995 and 2006. And in the period 1995-2004 alcohol-related deaths doubled to 1,775, figures to be released today show.

They also suggest that the most effective way of reducing alcohol consumption is to increase excise duty on drink.

The figures from the Health Research Board show that the number of people discharged from hospitals with alcohol-related problems or injuries between 1995 and 2004 went up by almost 90 per cent, while the number of hospital bed days involving people with alcohol-related illnesses more than doubled over the same period. The number of people discharged from hospitals with alcohol-related liver disease went up 147 per cent over the 10 years.

Such discharges peaked in the 50-59 age group, but 30,000 were among people aged 30 or under. Four out of five of these latter had acute problems, with about 5,000 with long-term alcohol-related problems such as liver disease.

Overall Ireland has one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption per adult in the EU, with 13.4 litres of pure alcohol consumed in 2006, up from 11.4 litres in 1995. (A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol. This corresponds to a half pint of beer or a single measure of spirits.) It has the fourth highest level of pure alcohol consumption per adult in the 27 EU countries, behind Hungary (13.81 litres), the Czech Republic (16.15 litres), and Luxembourg (18 litres).

Alcohol consumption in Ireland peaked in 2001 at 14.3 litres per adult, but decreased in 2003 to 13.35 litres. This has remained static and has been attributed mainly to an increase in excise duty on spirits and cider in the December 2002 budget.

HRB officers believe these figures greatly underestimate the reality as none include admissions to A&E, unless the patient was admitted to hospital from A&E. Whereas in general the age profile of women discharged from hospital was much lower than for men, women under 18 accounted for 47 per cent of all discharges in that age group.

According to a Eurobarometer survey this year Irish people are, at 34 per cent, over three times more likely to take at least five drinks on an occasion than the EU average, 10 per cent. Irish people are also almost twice as likely to do so every week (54 per cent - the highest in the EU), than the EU average, 28 per cent weekly.

Further, 32 per cent of Irish 15-16-year-olds reported binge drinking at least three times the previous month, the highest in the EU for that age cohort, while alcohol-related offences for Irish 15-17-year-olds increased by 135 per cent between 2000 and 2005.

Figures for 2003 indicated that alcohol was a factor in 36 per cent of deaths on Irish roads, with 34 per cent of drivers killed over the limit and male drivers in the 19-34 age group most likely to be killed. Since random breath testing was introduced in July last year there has been a 20 per cent reduction in deaths on Irish roads.