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Impact of harmful drinking on Irish children 'a national scandal'

Today the Alcohol Forum launched Ireland’s first National Alcohol Awareness Week.

AS IRELAND’S FIRST National Alcohol Awareness Week launches today, the Alcohol Forum has warned that the country’s legacy of harmful drinking and its impact on Irish children is a “national scandal”.

Today the organisation said that society often blames teenagers and young adults for our alcohol-consumed culture when they are only “practicing what they learn from their parents”.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie today, Chairman Pat Harvey said he would like to see every teenager in Ireland being asked by their parents what they think of their drinking.

“A lot of them would be perfectly comfortable about the answers they’d get but some of them might be surprised,” he said. “We’re not at the top of the league of the heaviest drinkers because of a few people drinking heavily, we’re at the top because a lot of people take a lot of drink.”

Harvey said that the national strategy to education children and teens about the alcohol culture in schools is a model proven to work but said that now it was important to support it and resource it.

The alcohol industry should play a big part in resourcing it. There’s this message that they come out with, that individuals must take responsibility for their own drinking – I just don’t buy that. The industry is a goliath and we need to take them on. Instead of allowing them to sponsor sports events and things like that we should be imposing a levy and using it in a way that can undo the damage that’s been done.

Harvey said that perceptions that the campaign was aimed at completely discouraging people from drinking were wrong.

“People have this idea that we’re anti-pub and anti-drinking and we’re a million miles from that, we’re very comfortable with moderate drinking, it’s the times it reaches harmful levels that we’re worried about,” he said. “We’re looking to have a culture that nurtures this type of responsibility because it’s our cultures that cause us to be the way we are and the messages that the industry are getting out there are hugely impacting on our national identity.”

“In years to come, it’ll be a national scandal if we just sit back and watch while the damage is done to our younger generation,” he said.

National Alcohol Awareness Week

This week there will be a number of alcohol-themed events taking place including a flagship conference on Wednesday in the Convention Centre Dublin entitled ‘The Power of Local Community in Reducing Harmful Drinking’ hosted by Alcohol Forum which will focus on key strategies to reduce Ireland’s harmful drinking culture.

Other events taking place around the country include:

  • A Poster Exhibition by the Substance Abuse Service in St. Vincent’s Hospital Dublin.
  • Drug and Alcohol-Free Social Nights in Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny organised by Letterkenny Community Development Project.
  • Alcohol Awareness Training in Mohill, Co. Leitrim organised by Mohill Action on Alcohol Harm.
  • Cork City Partnership Ltd will host ‘alcohol audits’ around Cork City asking ‘How Does Your Drinking Measure Up?’

Alcohol Forum will also launch a series of what they call “Toolkits” to help communities help themselves including:

  • Spirit of Sport – a guide for Coaches and Clubs on harmful drinking;
  • Festival Care Guide – a guide for festival organisers on how to curb harmful drinking at their events;
  • A Model Community – a community mobilisation toolkit for community groups to roll-out in their own areas.

A series of expert articles on alcohol misuse will be published every day on the Alcohol Forum website.

Related: Charity launches Ireland’s first Alcohol Awareness Week>
Read: Fast food and alcohol companies ‘using similar strategies to tobacco industry’>

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79 Comments
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    Mute JournalComments
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:21 PM

    My son yesterday was just playing basketball in the schoolground and some hooligans came up to him and started picking a fight. Our neighbourhood is gone very dangerous because of them.
    I’m thinking about sending him to live with his aunt & uncle who live in a much fancier area.

    198
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    Mute Sherlookit
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:25 PM

    Bel air?

    238
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    Mute Nuffsaid Thatsall
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:28 PM

    So you’re having YOUR child live away from his parents because of an anti-social behaviour problem in your area!?! That’s great parenting!!

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    Mute Ted Power
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:31 PM

    Trolls have been known to eat their own young so it’s good that they’re giving him away.

    88
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    Mute Eoin Darcy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:35 PM

    You two must have coordinated that,very funny!

    35
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    Mute Keith Ward
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:13 PM

    That made me spit out my herbal tea!!! Great comment…what was the cousins name again?

    28
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    Mute Amy gaffney
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:25 PM

    Carlton! I actually Lol’d at that comment. And now i hate myself for saying lol.

    42
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    Mute JournalComments
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:28 PM

    @Nuffsaid Thatsall

    I know. He begged and pleaded with me day after day (it got pretty annoying). But I basically packed his suitcase for him and sent him on his way. First class obviously.
    I feel like he will have a better life there.. who knows someday he could be considered royalty.

    34
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    Mute Keith Ward
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:30 PM

    Carlton thats the one,and not forgetting uncle Phil… love it

    16
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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:30 PM

    most likely you will have to explain it to him, he is just another of mr.dolans/shaw/higgins/church many aliases, his penny has a parachute

    13
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    Mute Sharon Larkin
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:37 PM

    The day after paddys day when there were plenty of kids in pubs around the country watching their parents get drunk. How very apt

    170
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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:58 PM

    neither of my parents ever drank but all 11 of their children did

    71
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    Mute Sharon Larkin
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:19 PM

    It was the opposite in our house. Both my parents were heavy drinkers but none of the kids are. Id maybe have a drink twice or 3 times a year but id never have my kids with me when i do. Id make sure they’re tucked up in bed before i go out.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:27 PM

    im glad we didnt have to spend every weekend in the pub when we were kids, i hate to see it these days

    51
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    Mute AggressiveSecularist
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:32 PM

    “neither of my parents ever drank but all 11 of their children did”

    Jesus! If I had 10 siblings I’d probably want a bloody drink too. That’s pure child abuse.

    47
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    Mute AggressiveSecularist
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:34 PM

    “glad we didnt have to spend every weekend in the pub when we were kids”

    Couldn’t agree more BTW. There is nothing for children to do in a pub. People should take their kids to a playground or a park or somewhere they can have some fun and be kids. Not the bloody pub. Not under any circumstances!

    66
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    Mute John Lifebooks
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    Mar 18th 2013, 6:36 PM

    We Irish have been led to bankruptcy by drunks, and we now face growing up or drowning in poverty.
    The time has arrived for a referendum on banning alcohol for a one year trial, so we can sober up.

    14
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    Mute Karen Gillen
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    Mar 18th 2013, 7:00 PM

    I was at a 5yr olds birthday party on Friday with 2 of my little ones, it was at an indoor kids play centre and after an hour and a half of climbing running about, then a full stomach of food and cake they were all exhausted. One little lad lay out on the ground tired and his mother said ‘Ahhh look, are you tired or are you locked? Hahah are you locked?’ The kids says ‘No Ma I wasn’t even in the pub!’ and they both fell about laughing. My 5 yo doesn’t know what a pub is, and she thinks being locked is something for bathroom doors and treasure chests >.>

    Last year she was invited to a 4yo party at their family home, when we arrived there was more adults than kids, tracksuits and cans of budweiser was their costume for the day, in the middle of the afternoon they were all drinking at a kiddy BDay -.- Needless to say we didn’t stick around.

    Some kids are exposed to alcohol at every significant event in their young lives, its no wonder they then grow up with a warped view of drinking.

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    Mute Justin Ferris
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:30 PM

    Funny how they launch it after st. Paddys weekend

    117
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    Mute Nik
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:37 PM

    Reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons with Rex Banner.

    47
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    Mute Paul
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:46 PM

    I think there is a lot of scaremongering about alcohol in this country. There might be some people who cant handle drink, but the vast majority of us can have an enjoyable night out without going mad. We as a nation do not drink ourselves into oblivion every night as some would have us believe. Most of us sit in watching Coronation Street and then go to work completely clearheaded the next morning.

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    Mute Dermot O'Shea
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:37 PM

    They would’nt launch it before paddys day justin as they would be afraid alcohol sales might go down.

    46
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    Mute marcoop
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:38 PM

    Paul, here’s an idea! Give up drinking, completely, then go out as you normally would and watch the reaction of horror you get from your peers and local barman, then come back here and tell people we dont have a drink problem in this country.

    100
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    Mute Dermot O'Shea
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:42 PM

    Paul , hate to be the bearer of bad news but as a taxi driver i see many of people drinking themselves into oblivion nightly. By the way How can anyone have a clear the next day after watching Coronation street?

    82
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    Mute Robert A. Wilson
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:48 PM

    @Paul. Scaremongering? Unless you are a medical professional and witness the unnecessary pressure on the system and the needless violence that arises out of alcohol abuse, I think you should reconsider such statements.

    33
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    Mute Paul
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    Mar 18th 2013, 5:19 PM

    I think a lot of people may be jumping on the national inferiority bandwagon. I do not dispute that some people make complete pigs of themselves But to tar a whole country with the same brush is excessive. I dont go out often, certainly less than once a month for one or two quiet pints with Mrs P. The vast majority of people I see are well behaved and reasonable. They just want to go home after a nice night out. Unfortunately the few badly behaved people are the ones who are remembered not the quiet inoffensive majority of the population. Possibly alcohol and youth are a bad mix, but most mature people do not cause fights, vomit in taxis or assault nurses.

    26
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    Mute John Magennis
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    Jun 18th 2013, 11:09 PM

    Considering the unhealthy regularity of Corrie drinkers, I don’t think the employed average population are being protected enough xD

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    Mute Mags Flynn
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    Nov 11th 2014, 2:43 PM

    Hi Dermot
    Is there any chance my friend left a mobile in your taxi this morning?
    Mags
    0876812156

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    Mute Stephen murphy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:19 PM

    Double the Tax on Alcohol, legalise Cannabis and tax it and use the funds to educate in schools! Ban advertising alcohol till after 9 pm!

    103
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    Mute voiceofsense
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:30 PM

    Who would fund the treatment for depression and psychosis?

    68
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    Mute Eoin Darcy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:32 PM

    There’s four things right there which would turn the country around in the right direction,but there isn’t a politician in the country who would do it,too afraid of losing their seat,no courage or concept of change!

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    Mute Eoin Darcy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:18 PM

    @vor ,drinking less and keeping kids away from weed until their brain has developed would deal with psychosis ,so you needn’t worry.

    30
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    Mute Eoin Darcy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:20 PM

    And alcohol is a depressant ,not weed .

    43
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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:04 PM

    @vor the same fund thats paying for it now as anyone that wants access already has it, the notion that there would be an increase in use if dope was legalised is daft, you can get it anywhere 24 hours a day, the difference is you could use the tax monies to deal with the consequences of a situation that is already there

    12
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    Mute voiceofsense
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    Mar 18th 2013, 8:52 PM

    Legalising it, like cigarettes will naturally ease its availability to adolescents.

    9
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    Mute voiceofsense
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    Mar 18th 2013, 8:55 PM

    I realise cannabis is not a depressant. I asked about the treatment costs for the depression sequela of cannabis on some people. These are different things, the clue being that they’re different words.

    3
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    Mute everlast mccarthy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:21 PM

    Walking through town last night, Moore Street spotted a couple of victims getting sick, including another, I guessed a 12 year old boy with a can of Druid’s Glen…
    Quite unsettling!

    102
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    Mute Goldie Locks
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:47 PM

    I agree. Walking through Temple Bar yesterday afternoon (for my sins), seeing all those 12 yr old girls, absolutely hammered, wearing little more than their underwear….very disturbing.

    146
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    Mute AggressiveSecularist
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:37 PM

    I had a visitor over from Australia last summer who had his impression of the country coloured by the sight of a very intoxicated young lady squatting and defacating in front of the Molly Malone statue. I’m sure it left a lasting impression.

    56
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    Mute Ted Power
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:19 PM

    I had two cans of harp before I did my junior cert maths paper, I got a D.

    97
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    Mute Brian Horton
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:28 PM

    Maybe you had more than 2 cans but just couldn’t count, hence the D.

    171
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    Mute voiceofsense
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:29 PM

    Pulled you up two grades from your average?

    62
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    Mute Truthytruthteller
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:29 PM

    four cans would have got you a C

    61
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    Mute Ted Power
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:36 PM

    No it was definitely 2 because my mother found the empties in my school bag and yes I was delighted with the D!

    52
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    Mute Gerry Sutton
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:52 PM

    Harp and Toilet Duck are 1st cousins!

    45
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    Mute Dermot Fennelly
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:53 PM

    Toilet duck isn’t that bad

    21
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    Mute chair man
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    Mar 18th 2013, 5:43 PM

    meritocracy is alive and well in Tedville

    3
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    Mute Jonny Irish
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:33 PM

    It’s shocking that it’s taken until now to have an alcohol awareness week. Its been a scourge on society for years, ruined countless lives and will continue to do so as long as its earning money. I can’t believe we live in a society where cannabis is frowned upon yet it’s ok to go get shitfaced whenever you feel like it sometimes for years without anyone ever thinking you might have a problem. I don’t drink or do drugs so I’ve no legalise cannabis agenda at all, I just feel it’s complete hypocrisy that politicians have a view where smoking weed is abhorrent yet it’s ok for them to get pissed at junkets and do an interview on national radio the morning after. Pubs should have their opening hours slashed and shouldn’t be allowed to open before 6pm mid week as there’s no real excuse to be in there at 10 am every day.

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    Mute Tommy C
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:12 PM

    I walked past a pub on Capel st at 10am this morning and it was packed. There was a group of about 20 pissheads outside shouting and acting the eejit too.

    Disgraceful. Theres no need for pubs to open so early.

    62
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    Mute Bantos
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    Mar 18th 2013, 10:02 PM

    Haha was it the Capal Tommy? That place doesn’t even have a licence i heard. Went in one morning for a drink for the craic. It was like something from a Guy Richie except even mentaller.

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    Mute Hippocrateeth
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:43 PM

    “the best pace to drink at is your own”- not if you have a drinking problem and have a tendency to knock them back like a cowboy.

    76
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    Mute Sharon Breen Jenkins
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:53 PM

    I know too many parents that think its ok to have a few cans most nights of the week, especially over the weekend… The pub is a social space for them & their kids on Saturday & Sunday. I dont think this is right. Kids accept this as the norm and it shouldn’t be…

    75
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    Mute Truthytruthteller
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:28 PM

    All alcohol advertising has to be banned, full stop.

    Unfortunately successive governments have all been in bed with the drinks industry.

    We are not citizens in this country, we are consumers.

    74
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    Mute Joe Kinnane
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    Mar 18th 2013, 2:51 PM

    We’ll probably have an article after Easter about diabetes and consuming too much chocolate etc
    Good point but talk about post-mortem directly after st Patrick’s day

    52
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    Mute karla carroll
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:27 PM

    Yep, but only type 2.

    Type 1 isn’t caused by eating sugar, they dont seem to pay any attention to type 1 at all and some Muppets think they are the same or don’t realise there is a big difference between the two.

    27
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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:52 PM

    yes we drink too much, but the weather is brutal

    48
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    Mute JakkiB
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:43 PM

    On my way home from work last night and stopped off at my daughters, Seen a gang of guys & girls go to my car with torch and check to see was there anything for them to rob, There was nothing so one of them decided to do some serious damage to my car, I ran out and grabbed him while all his mates were screaming at me to let him go, Rang the Garda and am still waiting on them to arrive!!!!!

    47
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    Mute Steve Grant
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    Mar 18th 2013, 7:15 PM

    Never realised how much I drank until I emigrated. No wonder the irish are popping up in Aussie media every other week. They simply don’t tolerate that type of behavior here and they’re dead right. I’m 28 and realised lately that I’ve been drinking since I was 14. This is not ok. Drink is a scourge on irish society…one we certainly won’t be able to pay for over the next few decades as our economy (and health system) continues to crumble.

    The problem lies in our attitude towards alcohol and how acceptable it is in society…communions, christenings, birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, mid-term, bank holidays etc. nothing is more important than the tipple at every occasion. Very sad indeed.

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    Mute John Magennis
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    Jun 18th 2013, 11:09 PM

    Place is great since you left, thanks!

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    Mute Anne Colleton
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:18 PM

    Parents, who do you expect to look after your children while they fall around our streets after they overdose on cheap drink they get from the supermarkets & off-licence traders for less than the price of sweets?? How do you not know what they are up to?? Do you not care? And if you do, do you realise that you need to step up and take some responsibility? The on-licence owners & traders have developed state of the art facilities, are responsible for “being in charge”. They self regulate, are responsible for checking ID, operate within the parameters of responsible serving of alcohol, call taxis for their customers, drive their customers home, sponsor local community events up & down the country, in the absence of local Gardai- they are forced to self police etc etc..They pay colossal Sky charges, IMRO, PPI to show all the events their punters desire, showcase local musicians & entertainers..The very heart blood of our little country are being forced out of business with hundreds of pubs around the country closing every year.. No one wants to see kids drinking?One wonders where this lack of any responsibility or accountability of many entities including off-licence trade will end? Where is the fairness, the sense, the justice? Another area where our wonderful government are scared to tread.. Our hospitality service & tourism industry has proved to continue to excel by world standards. At the heart of it all is the “local pub scene”… But it’s being choked to death by greed..

    42
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    Mute JakkiB
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:46 PM

    Had to deal with him for over 2 hours as he vomited everywhere and had a seizure due to the drugs and alcohol taken, I found out today he is 12!!!!!

    39
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    Mute Michael O'Reilly
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:57 PM

    All laudable but a waste of time. We should
    - ban all drink advertising
    - ban alcohol industry from supporting sporting and other events
    - allow only off licences to sell alcohol
    - close pubs and off licences that sell alcohol to anyone under age
    - invoke child protection legislation against certain parents
    - actually enforce the public order legislation to the letter

    The list goes on ….everyone knows what to do ….no one will do it….as with everything in Ireland..too many vested interests.

    33
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    Mute Truthytruthteller
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:04 PM

    @michael

    They have all that over in Utopia.

    Now, where’s that map…………

    18
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    Mute Joanne Cussen
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    Mar 18th 2013, 7:57 PM

    There is notting worse then been hammered drunk in front of children, parents who think it’s okay to take there kids to the pub with them all day Sunday, or paddy day should be ashamed of themselves, a pub is no place for children at all at any time

    32
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    Mute Jone Kelleher
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:49 PM

    Pat Harvey telling parents to ask their own children if their drinking is okay? Seriously? Who’s the adult here? He could suggest that parents ask themselves about their drinking.
    Surprised this article didn’t mention Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. It only affects a small number of children ( althought imo it’s underdiagnosed) but apart from death in alcohol related accidents, is the most serious adverse effect of drinking.

    31
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    Mute Jeanie Mc
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:25 PM

    Alcohol awareness week in advance of Rag Week in many colleges, when locals avoid going out because of the anti-social, drunken behaviour of many students. Enforcing a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ by the gardaí would quickly put a stop to this.

    26
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    Mute Truthytruthteller
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    Mar 18th 2013, 3:42 PM

    Ban supermarkets from selling alcohol.
    Limit off license opening hours. (6pm – 10pm)

    Teens are more likely to get their drink in supermarkets, not off licenses.

    25
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    Mute Ballnkilla
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    Mar 18th 2013, 9:40 PM

    Drinking age should be 21!
    Fine the establishments who sell booze to minors. Penal System in Ireland is a joke.

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    Mute Bantos
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    Mar 18th 2013, 9:54 PM

    That makes zero sense. When i was 15 we used to eat pills and smoke hash cos we couldn’t get anyone old enough to buy drink. People just want to get messed up and have a good time so they will one way or another. Let them have their fun. As people get older they get high and mighty but we all had a good time when we did it.

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    Mute Kitalpha
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:03 PM

    There is an even bigger national scandal going on right now and that is the continued forced fluoridation of our water supply which is causing much bigger problems than our alcohol abuse and that says a lot.

    Perhaps The Journal could do a piece with scientist Declan Waugh who just released his report on the dangers of fluoride and its links with cancer and diabetes just to name two.
    Personally I don’t even care if they could prove it was safe to consume it I think its wrong to medicate everyone for the good of a few.

    Declan estimates it costs up to forty million to fluoridate the water supply and this doesn’t take the health or environmental costs on board.

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:51 PM

    Our biggest problem with alcohol is peoples attitude towards it and until that changes we will always have a problem

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    Mute Gooner Adam
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    Mar 18th 2013, 7:55 PM

    Every time this kind of topic comes up, it’s the same solutions that get proposed: raise excise, ban advertising, ban sponsorship, restrict opening hours and licenses. Yet, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone comment as to whether or not this has been tried anywhere else in Europe to any great success. In Finland and Sweden, the respective states run all their off licenses (Systembolaget in Sweden, Alko in Finland) and have done so for over a century or so, they have never allowed advertising or sponsorship and they have the highest excise rates in the EU wiyh only Norway and Iceland being higher than them internationally. Yet despite this, their binge drinking problem is almost as bad as ours, according to the European Institute for Alcohol Studies.

    Our issue has always been a cultural one. There has never historically been any social stigma attached to getting sh*t-faced in Ireland. Although I get the sense that this may be changing. That for me is the biggest hurdle. If we can’t overcome that, banning advertising and what not won’t really matter a jot.

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    Mute Daniel Dunne
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    Mar 18th 2013, 6:37 PM

    We dont have a national drink problem… we have a national justice problem wherby pissheads are given a slap on the wrists for their actions.

    Lower alcohol tax and increase anti social behaviour fines to compensate. Let the pissheads pay for the damage they cause, not the majority who enjoy a socialable pint.

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    Mute Dylan Prendergast
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    Mar 18th 2013, 5:12 PM

    I can say that my dad drinking gave me access to alcohol at an earlier age than I would’ve discovered it if he had not drank, but the point is I would’ve discovered it at some stage in my life anyway, so the difference is pointless. Plenty of people have parents who both drink heavy, it does not always mean their children will become alcoholics. Sure it increases the chance but it does not always turn out as awful as people say. Sober parents can produce alcoholic offspring and alcoholic parents can produce sober offspring.

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    Mute Marie O'Neill
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    Mar 18th 2013, 6:53 PM

    There’s more ways a child can be damaged than just becoming alcoholic later in life.

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    Mute Vinny Healy
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    Mar 18th 2013, 5:22 PM

    How many national scandals do we have?

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    Mute Dan Slevin
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    Mar 18th 2013, 4:59 PM

    Ah Jayzusin Jaayzus, as if d fear o d day after paddys day wasnt enough I have to go n read this! Bdlordlivinlovinlambojaaaayzus

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    Mute EU Auditor
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    Mar 19th 2013, 2:49 AM

    Maybe if we didn’t encourage people to have kids with children’s allowance. How about only paying for the first 2 children. Then they might have a chance.

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    Mute John Magennis
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    Jun 18th 2013, 11:27 PM

    Why don’t we just totally separate children from drinking culture, like they do with porn?

    1) “NO Children” signs on pub doors and no admission if someone is accompanied by a child. Fines and prison sentences (non-commuted) for offenders.

    2) Covered off-license areas with ID checks at the door/entrance, and no adverts for sales on posters about or outside the off-license designated area.

    3) 3-month mandatory prison sentences and a €1000 fine for any legal aged adult buying alcohol for an under-aged person or otherwise providing an under-aged person with alcoholic products, and strictly enforced to deter ‘ah sure they’re only kids’ adult mentalities.

    4) Breathaliser tests on Monday morning on all secondary school students over the age of 13, when they’d be hitting puberty and most susceptible to physical/mental developmental problems from alcohol consumption.

    Won’t ever happen because we’d all be divided into Nanny state vs anti-Nanny state positions. I genuinely think sometimes that people believe we should suffer their children. All of the above should equally apply to cigarettes. Any non-normative habits like cannabis etc. should be looked at, but frankly it’s not the danger we’re trying to fix, its the normalcy of the practices. Smoking and drinking are normal and linked in the popular Irish mentality, so it should be stubbed out and thrown down the drain.

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