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12 pubs of Christmas feeds into Ireland's problem with alcohol, says charity

Charity MEAS said the pub crawl exacerbates our cultural problem with alcohol and encourages binge drinking.

A CHARITY THAT promotes the “mature enjoyment of alcohol” has appealed to Christmas revellers to abandon the much popular “12 pubs of Christmas” excursions.

The Chief Executive of MEAS (Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Ireland Limited) Fionnuala Sheehan said the practice “is totally contrary to the principle of responsible drinking”.

Alcohol

She added that the “12 Pubs of Christmas” is exacerbating the less acceptable way in which some Irish people tend to interact with alcohol. While she acknowledged that it was the season “to be jolly” she said “this kind of pub crawling needs to be dropped”.

She added:

This kind of festive indulgence feeds into the cultural problem associated with how some people drink in Ireland.

In overall terms we drink less often in Ireland than our European counterparts, but when we drink we tend to drink more and at a faster pace.

Clearly the 12 Pubs practice exacerbates this ‘binge drinking’ pattern and this style of drinking.

Sheehan said that medical advice states that more than five standard drinks in one sitting can increase the harmful effects of drinking, adding that a standard drink is classed as a glass of cider/lager, a small glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits.

“If someone drank only one standard drink in each of the twelve pubs they seriously increase the risk of such harm. If they drank one pint in each of the twelve pubs they very seriously increase the risk of harm,” she said.

MEAS is a not-for-profit company to promote the responsible use of alcohol. In 2006 it established drinkaware.ie, an online consumer focused programme.

So, we want to know what you think. Do you think that the 12 pubs of Christmas promotes irresponsible drinking?


Poll Results:

No (3041)
Yes (1447)
I don't know (1154)

Have you or will you be taking part in one? Tell us in the comments section below.

Read: 12 people who were defeated by the 12 pubs of Christmas>

Column: What I’ll miss most about an Irish Christmas>

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125 Comments
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    Mute mary conneely
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 5:13 PM

    And if Shannon are cute they will give them an hour in duty free while they are waiting

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    Mute Mary Cullinane
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 4:58 PM

    Nightmare stuff for the passengers at the time I’d say. Glad all is well anyway & better be safe than sorry.

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    Mute Craig Barry
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 5:41 PM

    This is becoming almost a weekly occurrence – so many diversions as of late..

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    Mute Mick Rooney (TIPM)
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 6:22 PM

    … or just being reported more in the news, Craig.

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    Mute Mark Collins
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 6:39 PM

    Been working in shannon since 2006 and in my opinion that is the only difference it is making the news when before it didn’t

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    Mute Mick Rooney (TIPM)
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 7:05 PM

    With 3000+ aircraft in the air at any given time you can be sure that a handful of pilots are dealing with issues from unruly passengers, to ill passengers, poor weather, tech issues, faulty cockpit alerts; all of which can lead to a diversion or declared emergency. I made the point on a separate thread RE the 787 diversion to Shannon this week, that if every news agency were to report every aviation incident then there would be little space left for other local and international news.

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    Mute Tom
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    Jul 4th 2015, 2:35 AM

    Well 787′s were a bit flammable for a while there!
    Hopefully that’s all sorted by now.

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    Mute Scott Crossfield
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 8:10 PM

    Plane is just out of retirement to cover for the one damaged in the hailstorms

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    Mute Tom
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    Jul 4th 2015, 2:35 AM

    The incident over china?
    Wonder how long it will take them to repair that plane.

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    Mute AN other
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 6:10 PM

    Maybe they’ll get pre-clearance now that they’re taking off from shannon directly to the states

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    Mute Spoddgy
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    Jul 3rd 2015, 8:28 PM

    Delta seem to be a great airline

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