Going for a drink has changed from being part of a social occasion to being the only part of the occasion, the President of Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Senator Joe O'Toole claimed today.
Addressing a conference entitled Alcohol, Ethics & Society in Galway today, Mr O'Toole said a national alcohol strategy cannot be dictated by the drinks industry.
"If the objective is to reduce alcohol consumption then axiomatically it must run counter to the interests of a profit driven drinks industry. So for certain national alcohol policy cannot be dictated by the drink industry and that must be the case however responsible the leadership of that industry is," Mr O'Toole said.
An abuse prevention strategy aimed at supply rather than demand is "doomed to failure", Mr O'Toole said. He called for a national debate on the issue which, he said, was not confined to a particular class. He outlined four proposals to help counter the abuse of alcohol:
- Every bottle and advertisement for alcohol should carry the message 'drinking can seriously damage your health'
- A portion of the taxation revenue raised by the excise duty on alcohol should be used to fund a major alcohol abuse prevention programme
- Licensing laws should be relaxed to allow more restaurants sell alcohol
- Licensing small local pubs providing food as well as alcohol should be liberalised
He said social attitudes to drink must be changed. "In order to change attitudes it will be necessary to engage with, consult with and listen to the groups whose attitudes we hope to change and to root all our initiatives in their attitudes. This applies particularly but not exclusively to young people," he said.
He said the objective a national policy should be to remove alcohol from being the focus of a night out and encourage reduced and responsible alcohol consumption.
He also called for legislation on the issue.
The conference also heard that binge drinking is now reaching epidemic proportions and that people as young as 14 and 15 were "drinking to get drunk".
Alcohol counsellor with the Western Health Board, Mr Joe Tracey said the number of people ending up in treatment was increasing every year.
The conference also heard that alcohol consumption had increased by 50 per cent over the past 12 years and is now costing the health service €2.3 billion a year.