Madam, - Danny McCoy of Ibec (August 18th), in the course of examining expenditure on alcohol in Ireland in international context, erroneously conflates expenditure on alcohol with consumption levels under the misleading headline "Less alcohol consumed than figures suggest".
This article, together with some recent contributions from the drinks industry, may have the effect of discounting the public health problems associated with alcohol consumption.
These include an estimated 1,500 alcohol-attributable deaths in our country annually - 5 per cent of national mortality.
This proportion is likely to increase in the years ahead because our consumption increase is of recent origin and affects particularly young persons not yet at risk for the longer- term causes of alcohol-related mortality such as certain cancers.
The reality is that recorded alcohol consumption in Ireland, despite some slight recent decline, is the highest in the 25 countries of the enlarged EU except for Luxembourg, where special cross-border circumstances apply so that much of purchase/consumption is by non-residents.
Because of the higher proportion of our population aged under 14 (non-drinkers, or should be) than elsewhere in Europe, total population consumption data underestimate Irish per head consumption. - Yours, etc,
Dr DERMOT WALSH,
Burleigh Court,
Burlington Road,
Dublin 4.