I was horrified to discover that as a society we are now drinking more than almost all our EU colleagues. In the last six years the consumption of spirits alone has increased by over 50%, while there has been a staggering increase of 100% in the consumption of cider. Between 1989 and 1999, the per capita alcohol consumption increased by a massive 41%. The overall per capita alcohol consumption in Ireland in 2002 was 14.2 litres.