How much do we drink?

• Over half of all Irish drinkers have a harmful pattern of drinking, that’s 4 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men who drink
• A higher proportion of Irish women who drink compared with women in other European countries (77% compared to 68%)
• The average amount of alcohol consumed by every person in the country aged 15+ was 12.4 litres of pure alcohol in 2008. This amounts to 490 pints or 129 bottles of wine or 46 bottles of vodka per adult
   
• When we consider the above statistics alongside the fact that one in five adults in Ireland don’t drink alcohol, it means that those who do drink are consuming much more than consumption statistics show
   
• Alcohol consumption in Ireland increased by 46% between 1987 (9.8 litres) and 2001 (14.3 litres) when our consumption reached a record high
   
• Consumption has been falling since this peak in 2001, to 12.4 litres in 2008
   
• Even at current levels we are still drinking 20% above the levels we drank at in 1986/1987
   
• Ireland continues to rank among the highest consumers of alcohol in the 26 countries in the enlarged EU. We drink about 20% more than the average European

How much do children and young people drink?

• In the most recent survey of drinking among European 15 and 16‑year‑olds more Irish girls (44%) than boys (42%) reported binge-drinking in the last month  (2007 ESPAD survey)
   
• Over half reported being drunk at least once by the age of 16
   
• The survey identified “a major issue around drunkeness”
    
• A recent report by the Office of Tobacco Control (2006) revealed that our 16 to 17‑year‑olds spend an average of €20·09+ per week on alcohol. This amounts to an illegal alcohol market of €145m in this country

Alcohol and Driving

• Drink driving offences increased by 74% between 203 and 2007, from 11,421 to 19,864
• In the period from 2003 to 2005, approximately 120 people were killed each year in alcohol-related crashes
   
• In the same period, almost one third (31%) of crash deaths were alcohol-related
   
• Where Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels were available for drivers killed, almost six out of ten had alcohol in their blood
   
• One in every six drivers with alcohol in their blood, who were responsible for fatal crashes in 2003, were not above the legal limit

Alcohol and Families

• Between 61,000 and 104,000 children aged under 15 in Ireland are estimated to be living with parents who misuse alcohol
   
• A study of women who attended the Coombe Women’s Hospital found that almost two‑thirds (63%) of the 43,318 women surveyed said they drank alcohol during their pregnancy. Alcohol consumption, particularly in the first three months of pregnancy, can lead to disorders in how the brain develops in the womb

Alcohol, Mental Health and Suicide

• Alcohol‑related disorders were the third most common reason for admission to Irish psychiatric hospitals between 1996 and 2005
   
• Alcohol use is often a factor in suicidal behaviour. In 2006/2007 alcohol was a factor in 41% of all cases of deliberate self-harm
   
• One Irish study of people from three counties who died as a result of suicide, found that more than half had alcohol in their blood

Alcohol and Crime

• Alcohol-related offences increased by 30% between 2003 and 2007, from 50,948 to 66,406
• Almost half of the perpetrators of homicide were intoxicated when the crime was committed
   
• Alcohol was found to be a factor in almost half of all cases of sexual assaults on adults according to a major survey of sexual assault and violence in Ireland. In such cases, where only one party had been drinking, the perpetrator of the sexual assault was the one drinking in the majority of cases (84% of female and 70% of male sexual assault cases)

Alcohol and Injuries

• More than one in four of those attending accident and emergency departments have alcohol‑related injuries, almost half of which occurred to people aged under 30 years
   
• Alcohol is a factor in one in four traumatic brain injuries

Alcohol and Health

• Hospital discharges for alcohol-related liver disease increased by 147% between 1995 and 2004
   
• Alcohol-related deaths also increased during the same period, from 3.8 deaths per 100,000 to 7.1 deaths per 100,000
   
• Many cancers, including cancer of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum and female breast, are causally related to alcohol consumption
   
• Cancer of the liver has had the highest rate of increase of all cancer types between 1994 and 2003, increasing by 10.7% for females and 7.4% for males, compared to an increase for all cancers of 1.1% for females and 1.1% for males
   
• There is a risk relationship between the amount a woman drinks, and the likelihood of her developing the most common type of breast cancer. Drinking one standard alcoholic drink a day is associated with a 9% increase in the risk of developing breast cancer, while drinking 3‑6 standard drinks a day increases the risk by 41%
   
• High levels of alcohol use and heavy drinking among young women are reflected in the fact that one in four women discharged from hospital for alcohol‑related conditions were aged under 30, compared to 17% of men under 30 discharged
   
• Between 1995 and 2004, there was an increase of 29% in the proportion of teenage girls aged under 18 discharged from hospital for alcohol‑related conditions compared to an increase of 9% for males under 18

Main sources: Barry S, Kearney A, Lawlor E, McNamee E and Barry J (2006) The Coombe Women’s Hospital study of alcohol, smoking and illicit drug use, 1988–2005. Dublin: Coombe Women’s Hospital; Bedford D (2008) Drink Driving in Ireland. Presentation made at conference organised by the Road Safety Authority; Eurocare/COFACE (1998) Alcohol Problems in the Family: A Report to the European Union. England: Eurocare; Hope A (2008) Alcohol Related Harm In Ireland: Health Services Executive – Alcohol Implementation Group; Hope A (2007) Alcohol Consumption in Ireland 1986-2006. Health Services Executive – Alcohol Implementation Group; Mongan et al (2007) Health Related Consequences of Problem Alcohol Use. Overview 6. Dublin: Health Research Board; National Suicide Research Foundation (2008) National Registry of Deliberate Self-harm Ireland, Annual Report 2006-2007