Madam, - Fintan O'Toole, in an excellent column on alcohol advertising (Opinion, December 20th), points out that the Government has capitulated to vested interests. Plans to protect children from alcohol advertising by legislation have been shelved in favour of yet another form of self-regulation by the industry.
Why on earth did we have an expert task force on alcohol when all of its recommendations have been ignored?
More depressing news, for those of us who care about our national alcohol problem, came last week with the news that Dr Ann Hope's contract with the Department of Health and Children is being terminated (The Irish Times, December 16th). Dr Hope is the special adviser to the Minister on alcohol and has done outstanding work at home and abroad in this field.
The signs are not good. It looks as though our national predisposition to reckless drinking, with all of the awful consequences for individuals, families and society, will be allowed to continue at epidemic levels.
Two wishes for Christmas and the New Year: the introduction of random breath tests for drivers (even if it needs a constitutional change) and someone in Government with the moral bottle (sic) to tackle the vested interests. - Yours, etc,
ROLANDE J. ANDERSON, Project Director, Irish College of General Practitioners, Dublin 2.