Sir, – Brewers and bar owners could encourage more moderate drinking by agreeing to drop the price of a half pint of beer. As it stands, most pubs charge a premium for a glass of lager or stout, compared to the cost of a pint, so there’s little incentive for beer drinkers to take a more measured approach. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Ireland is ahead of the EU in classifying alcohol as a drug, but the substance is not consistently treated as one, officially. Were that the case, we would have mandatory warning labels advising of the various attendant risks, such as mood alteration, ulterior interaction with other substances, poisoning (sometimes fatal), birth defects, impairment of motor skills, and of neurological damage, both pre- and post-natal. There is still no sign of proposed legislation promised historically by minister for health Mary Harney.
One can only speculate as to why manufacturers (even if only to protect the interests of shareholders, and not even as a matter of social and corporate responsibility), do not choose to attach such advice to the product. Such failure surely paves the way for persons and family members afflicted by alcohol problems to take legal proceedings in Ireland on grounds of corporate failure to give any, or even minimal, warnings with alcohol products, despite minimal warnings being given to consumers in the US, where there is legal requirement to do so. – Yours, etc,