Alcohol Policy

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Alcohol and driving
Almost one in three crash deaths in Ireland is alcohol-related. The latest available statistics, 2003-2005, show that on average, 120 people - drivers, passengers, pedestrians - were killed in alcohol-related crashes each year. Behind the statistics are brothers, sisters, sons and daughters… read on click here.

aai_thumb14Alcohol and pregnancy
It is in a child’s best interests for a prospective mother not to drink alcohol while pregnant due to the risk of developmental brain disorders to the child. Yet two out of three women in Ireland continue to drink alcohol during their pregnancy. Click here.

aai_thumb011Alcohol, suicide and mental health
Suicide is the leading cause of death in young Irish adults. Since 1998, more people have died as a result of suicide than in road traffic accidents, deaths from suicide exceeding those from road traffic accidents by as many as 100 people each year. For more click here.

female-teenager-drinking-beer Alcohol, children and young people: do we need be concerned?
Alcohol use is a serious risk to children and young people’s physical and mental health.  In the latest survey of school-going children across Europe - 26% of teenagers said they had been drunk in the previous month - with girls outnumbering boys. The levels of alcohol use among teenage girls is worrying. For more click here.

childMarketing alcohol - children under the influence
Alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that adolescents will start drinking, and to drink more if they are already drinking. Young people in Ireland have one of the highest levels of drunkenness in Europe and there are a range of harms associated with early drinking. To read more, click here.

Alcohol marketing and consumption: A review of the scientific evidence
Patrick Kenny, School of Marketing, DIT, & Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling, spoke at Alcohol Action Ireland’s recent AGM on Alcohol Marketing. Click here to view and download his presentation
World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy to Reduce Harmful Use of Alcohol
Every seven hours, someone in Ireland dies from an alcohol-related illness.  Alcohol-related harm is the third leading risk factor for premature death and disability in the world, with an estimated two and a half million people dying from alcohol-related causes in one year alone. The World Health Organisation, the public health arm of the United Nations, has issued a strategy to reduce alcohol related harm.

It lists ten target areas including community action, leadership and drink-driving counter-measures. Included in the ten were the “economic recommendations”: reducing young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing, pricing of alcohol and availability of alcohol. For a full text of the WHO strategy, click here. Alcohol Action Ireland supports the WHO’s strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm, click here to view press release.

 

Selected Policy Submissions made by Alcohol Action Ireland

Research and Policy Resources
To access links to selected research and policy reports, click here.