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advocating to reduce alcohol harm


Opinion Piece: Why we must regulate the labelling of alcohol products.

In recent weeks there has been a sustained undermining of the Government’s proposed Public Health Alcohol Bill, and specifically, the measures to regulate the labelling of alcohol products to include nutritional and health warning information. Much of this negative comment has emanated from artisan producers of alcohol products. These fledgling micro brewers and distillers, who in a parody of ‘David and Goliath’ roles, seek to maximise a doubt in the public’s mind about the Bill’s efficacy and instigate further delay... Full Story


Final agenda and speakers confirmed for European Policy Seminar

Self Regulation is No Regulation: The Case for Protecting Children from Alcohol Marketing Alcohol Action Ireland and Eurocare – European Alcohol Policy Alliance are to host a policy seminar taking place on Wednesday, 7th June from 10.30 to 14.30 in Norway House, Rue Archimede 17, Brussels. The event will explore how European Member States are working to protect children from alcohol marketing, and what further steps are necessary from an EU perspective: Agenda: 10.30am: Registration and Coffee Session 1: Examining... Full Story


The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will save lives, reduce harms, alleviate public services and release scarce public funds for greater socio-economic benefit.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is a progressive piece of legislation designed to significantly and positively alter Ireland’s harmful relationship with alcohol. It will ensure that alcohol misuse is treated as a serious public health problem. The legislation is part of a wider range of reasonable and pragmatic measures under the strategic framework of Healthy Ireland, which aims to improve the nation’s health and wellbeing. It will seek to reduce our per capita consumption from 11.46 litres in 2016 to... Full Story


Ireland’s per capita alcohol consumption increased in 2016

Alcohol consumption in Ireland increased during 2016, according to provisional figures released by the Revenue Commissioners. The figures show that per capita alcohol consumption was 11.46 litres of pure alcohol per person aged 15+ in 2016, an increase of 4.8% from 2015, when it was 10.93 litres. There were increases recorded in all categories of alcohol: spirits (+8.9%), cider (+8.5%), wine (+6.2%), and beer (+3.7%). Alcohol Action Ireland is calling on the Government to implement the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill... Full Story


Alcohol’s cost to society

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has pointed out that, beyond health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol brings significant social and economic losses to individuals and society at large.[i] In Ireland, the burden of alcohol related harm is often experienced by those around the drinker, such as a family member, friend, co-worker or innocent bystander.  Alcohol’s harm to others undermines public safety and is experienced in every community, ranging from the nuisance factor, feeling unsafe in public places, drink-driving, to... Full Story


Alcohol harm and health inequalities

Lower socioeconomic groups generally consume less alcohol overall and contain a higher proportion of abstainers, but they experience higher levels of alcohol harm than wealthier groups in society with the same level of consumption.[i] This is often referred to as the ‘Alcohol Harm Paradox’.[ii][iii] The ‘Alcohol Harm Paradox’ is evident in Ireland, where the Department of Health has stated that, while alcohol harm affects all social groups in Ireland, ‘the greater harm is experienced by marginalised and deprived groups’.[iv] The... Full Story


Tourism and excise duty

Excise duty has been regularly described as ‘a tax on tourism’ by alcohol industry lobbyists in Ireland, who claim that it damages our tourism offering. There is no evidence to substantiate this claim, as the number of tourists visiting Ireland the amount of money spent by tourists in Ireland grows year-on-year. Figures released by Fáilte Ireland in July 2016 show that expenditure by tourists visiting Ireland was estimated to be worth €6 billion in 2015, which represents annual growth of... Full Story


Healthy Ireland

Alcohol consumption is a key contributory risk-factor to Ireland’s burden of chronic disease, along with lifestyle factors such as smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 – 2025, states that ‘a healthy population is essential to allow people to live their lives to their full potential, to create the right environment to sustain jobs, to help restore the economy and to look after the most vulnerable people in society’.[i]... Full Story


Alcohol and health

The harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 disease and injury conditions. Worldwide, 3.3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol, which represents 5.9% of all deaths.[i] Harmful alcohol use is the fifth leading cause of death and disability worldwide, up from 8th in 1990, and every 10 seconds somebody dies from a problem related to alcohol and many more develop an alcohol-related disease.[ii] Alcohol is associated with a risk of developing... Full Story


Making the healthy choice an easier one will not turn Ireland into a Nanny State

People looking at the recently published Nanny State Index would do well to ask who really has their best interests at heart before accepting that Ireland is one of 'the worst places in the European Union to eat, drink, smoke and vape'. This index has been compiled by free-market lobby groups, the Institute of Economic Affairs and the European Policy Information Centre. If it is to be taken seriously, one first has to accept that all regulations governing food, alcohol... Full Story


Latest Reports

Alcohol - The Irish Situation

An updated (November 2016) fact sheet on alcohol in Ireland from the Health Research Board.

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Diageo's 'Stop Out of Control Drinking' Campaign in Ireland: An Analysis

It has been argued that the alcohol industry uses corporate social responsibility activities to influence policy and undermine public health, and that every opportunity should be taken to scrutinise such activities. This study analyses a controversial Diageo-funded ‘responsible drinking’ campaign (“Stop out of Control Drinking”, or SOOCD) in Ireland. The study aims to identify how the campaign and its advisory board members frame and define (i) alcohol-related harms, and their causes, and (ii) possible solutions.

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The Irish European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) Report 2015

This report is based on the 2015 European Schools Project for Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) Survey carried out in Ireland and is the sixth Irish data-collection wave of ESPAD. It is based on data from more than 1,400 Irish students surveyed in 2015. The most important goal of the ESPAD survey is to monitor trends in alcohol and other drug use among 15-16 year-olds and to compare trends between countries and groups of countries. It also provides the opportunity to observe the changes in these trends in Ireland over the six waves in the past 20 years.

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