The Republic's place in Europe at the top of the table for heavy drinking is taking its toll - on our health, our health service and our reputation, writes Nicole Matthews.
It is fast approaching Christmas, which for many means plenty of late lunches, work parties and lots of drinking. But drinking in the Republic is not just for Christmas - it's something we are doing a lot of, all year round.
Although many do not see drinking more than the recommended 14 units weekly for women and 21 for men as a problem, the Republic's place in Europe at the top of the table for heavy drinking has started to catch up with it.
Dr John Crowe, consultant gastroenterologist at the Mater hospital's centre for liver disease, says he is seeing more referrals than ever for serious and fatal liver problems, particularly in young Irish people.
"We are seeing a fairly significant increase in decompensated liver disease which is the end of the road for many patients and also full-blown cirrhosis. Patients are generally admitted to A&E and referred on to our centre. Internal referral is now greater than I have ever seen and is predominantly in Irish men and women in their 30s and 40s, which is extremely worrying," says Crowe.
Gerry Cooney, co-ordinator of pre-treatment services at the Rutland Centre, agrees. He says the consequences of heavy and binge drinking are serious and there is too much emphasis on how much people drink and not enough on the effects of drinking such quantities. "People are drinking more at early stages in their life and this is especially alarming in young Irish women who are top of the table worldwide in binge-drinking patterns," he says.
The figures released from a recent world survey which compared drinking patterns on a country-by-country basis reflect this and confirmed the Republic's position as first in the alcohol abuse league.
The figures found that 57 per cent of Irish female students could be classified as heavy drinkers compared with The Netherlands in second place with 34 per cent. Germany, Italy and South Africa were low by comparison, at 3 per cent.
Crowe says that in the Republic the survey was criticised because many thought that the criteria for heavy drinking of four units of alcohol or more was too unrealistic. It appears that Irish people believe four units of alcohol in one sitting is not excessive.
"Most people would think four drinks is low in Ireland," says Crowe. "However, we came first [in the league table] and were more than 20 per cent ahead of The Netherlands which highlights the large gap in national attitudes towards drinking," he says.
Alcohol addiction experts say that Ireland's reputation as a nation of heavy drinkers is seen to be part of our culture. Many feel that responsible drinking needs to be promoted and more education on the issue made available. Not all agree that the drinks industry funded body MEAS (Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society) is the right organisation to be providing education and information on alcohol. They believe that should be within the remit of the Department of Health only.
Cooney says MEAS should not be taking an educating role and claims it is a token gesture by drinks companies.
"Is the Government serious about addressing this problem as at the moment it is like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank or giving out a free banana with a Big Mac," he claims.
"The Government needs to give it a lot more attention as every weekend in A&E in Ireland between 70 and 80 per cent of admissions are alcohol- related," he says.
According to figures from the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland, the drinks industry spent €65 million on advertising alcoholic brands last year, but just €1.75 million promoting responsible drinking. For its part, Irish people spent €6.5 billion on alcohol last year.
Crowe says drinks advertising should be banned completely and the drinks industry should not be allowed to sponsor sporting events because it gives a mixed message.
"I would cut out the drinks industry entirely from all decision-making and ban all drinks advertising. The campaign and language must be blunt and simple," he says.
Fionnuala Sheehan, chief executive of MEAS, says her organisation has developed a website (www.drinkaware.ie) as people are interested in drinking responsibly and in getting more information.
"The website has been developed by MEAS at this point because we have found that the public is increasingly interested in understanding the effects of alcohol on the body, in understanding what a standard drink is and what the recommended weekly limits are," she says. She says its current campaign, Know the one that's one too many, has been developed and placed on media nationwide in an effort to direct people to the website. They are happy with the response to date.
Crowe says there is also a silent problem in Ireland which will only emerge in the future - that of drinking at home. The driving ban and the smoking ban have been factors in more people opting to drink at home.
"It's interesting to look at per capita consumption in Europe. In 1992 Ireland was at the halfway mark in Europe for per capita consumption, we are now second. In 1992, 23 per cent of Irish adults were non-drinkers, today in 2006 this figure is the same.
"What this highlights is that the remaining 77 per cent are drinking a lot more," claims Crowe.