Drinking ‘game’ can have very real consequences for young people

“Unfortunately, this so-called drinking ’game’, which has its origins elsewhere, now seems to be gaining some traction throughout social media in Ireland in recent days. While some may see it as a game, the consequences of drinking large volumes of alcohol in a short period of time can have very real consequences for people in terms of their health and wellbeing,” said Suzanne Costello, CEO of with Alcohol Action Ireland.

  “Participating in this ’game’ is clearly bad for your health and also reinforces the dangerous message that it is normal – and also fun – to get drunk, a message that is at the root of so much of our harmful drinking.

“The way this game spreads through social media by ’nominations’ also means that many young people who would never consider doing something like this are now coming under considerable peer pressure to put themselves in danger, not just in terms of their health, but also the poor decision-making, accidents and the other forms of risky behaviour that we know go hand-in-hand with binge drinking,” said Ms Costello.

“We also need to acknowledge that we create the environment that our young people live and grow up in and in terms of alcohol we are currently failing to protect them from the huge levels of harm it causes.

“The unfortunate reality is that while issues like this drinking ’game’ will come and go, there remains a consistent trend for drunkenness among young Irish people. Until we legislate to protect them by addressing the pricing, availability and marketing of alcohol in Ireland then we will continue to see many of them drinking in a way that is harmful to their health and wellbeing”