Real cost of alcohol revealed
A new report by the HSE on the impact alcohol has found that over one in four Irish people experienced one or more negative consequences as a result of someone else’s drinking.
These included family problems, being a passenger with a drunk driver, physical assaults, property vandalism and money problems.
The report, entitled ‘Alcohol’s Harm to Others in Ireland’, examines alcohol harm to people other than the drinker and describes and quantifies the extent of alcohol’s harm to others for the first time in an Irish context.
With the harm associated with alcohol use extending far beyond the person drinking and causing harm to the wider population, the Galway City Alcohol Strategy to Prevent and Reduce Alcohol-Related Harm has emphasised the need for it to be supported and implemented.
Evelyn Fanning, HSE Health Promotion, who is Chair of the Galway City Alcohol Forum explained: “We are in our second year of implementing the Galway City Alcohol strategy and there is a definite desire and will from agencies, community and voluntary groups and the public to undertake actions to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm.
“In terms of focus, the burden of alcohol-related harm is often experienced by those around the drinker, be they family member, friend, co-worker or innocent ‘bystander’.
“This new report endorses the need for an integrated approach to addressing alcohol-related harm as outlined in the Galway Strategy, which recognises the damage from alcohol to people other than the drinker. Addressing alcohol's harm to others including children, young adults and workplaces is a priority."
To view the HSE report and the Galway City Strategy and actions for 2014, see www.galwayalcoholstrategy.ie
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.