Madam, - Those who rush into print to compare the price of a cup of coffee at Dublin and Frankfurt airports might be better occupied in expressing concern at the vast sums of money spent on alcohol in Ireland at the present time.
The Central Statistics Office's figures for 2002 and 2003 reveal a staggering €6 billion spent on alcohol in each of those years by a total population of four million people, thus averaging €1,500 a year for every man, woman and child in the State.
When one considers that there are 2.9 million people (aged 18 and over) legally permitted to purchase alcohol in the Republic, the yearly average per adult rises to more than €2,000. That there are also significant numbers of both non- and occasional drinkers in Ireland merely emphasises the amounts spent by those who do indulge frequently and excessively.
Comparing shopping-basket prices between Barcelona and Dublin would seem to have little relevance in the light of such frightening expenditures by Irish citizens at every social level.- Yours. etc..
LOUIS POWER, Killiney, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Jane Coffey expresses dismay at the "blatant sexism" of an advertising campaign by the Health Promotion Unit.
Maybe I am a little simplistic in my approach to such issues, but I am not at all clear how this problem might otherwise be depicted.
For better or worse, we come in two simple human varieties - male or female. So, the only choice that this limited male intelligence can suggest is that only young males should be depicted as having alcohol problems.
Would this be more acceptable to Ms Coffey - or is she merely using this issue to pursue an entirely different agenda? - Yours, etc.,
EAMONN BOLAND, Listowel, Co Kerry.
Madam, - As a staff member in a Dublin nightclub for the past three years I wholeheartedly agree with the Health Promotion Unit and its advertisement campaign that focuses on young women's abuse of alcohol.
Almost every Friday night it is the women who are the last to leave the premises,who drink the most and who end up sitting on the kerb outside the club, with a pool of vomit on the road in front of them. In the same way that road safety campaigns focus on men (the main culprits when it comes to speeding), these new drink campaigns focus on women. - Yours etc.,
STEPHEN DONOVAN, Orwell Road, Dublin 14.
Madam, - Dr Connor K. Farren (January 3rd) fails to explain why MEAS's proposals (such as advocating moderation) should be rejected.
Instead, like others, he simply disparages MEAS for calling itself independent of the drinks industry when it is funded by the drinks industry.
This is a fair point.
However, may I therefore question whether Dr Farren is himself independent of the anti-drinking industry since he advertises himself as chairman of the substance misuse faculty at the Irish College of Psychiatrists and consultant addiction psychiatrist at the St Patrick's Hospital?
Since when did it become admissible for one industry (anti-drinking) to promote its interests, but not another (pro-drinking)? - Yours etc.,
TONY ALLWRIGHT, Killiney, Co Dublin.