Sir, - The Government's response to the alcohol problem in the Budget is very disappointing. This Budget will put more money in peoples' pockets and has reduced the price of alcohol. The consequences will be an overall increase in alcohol consumption and higher levels of alcohol abuse with serious consequences in personal, medical and social terms. Twenty-seven per cent of males and 21 per cent of females consume more than the recommended weekly limits for alcohol. Young people are starting to drink, becoming regular drinkers and experiencing drunkenness at an earlier age than previously.
The National Health Promotion Strategy acknowledges the need to "health proof" policies that impact directly or indirectly on health. Where is the "health proofing" in this Budget? The effect of this Budget will be to increase the overall consumption of alcohol. The Government's own National Alcohol Policy accepts that the most effective measures in the fight against alcohol abuse are high prices and the restriction on the availability of alcohol. Why has the Government abandoned its own policies for political expediency? The Minister should have increased the tax on alcohol. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Declan Bedford, Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.