Seanad debates

Wednesday, 7 May 2003

Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption: Motion.

 

That I have only one minute left leaves me very little time to say what I wanted about alcohol. I will make two brief points, the first being that, although I hope it is changing now, we in this country have an extraordinarily high level, not only of alcohol consumption, but of alcoholism. It is time that we confronted the fact that we are bordering on being an alcoholic nation. I recently had a 24-year-old in my office in Nenagh who, following two stints in Aiséirí, is now, happily, a recovering alcoholic. He is trying to ensure there is somewhere to go for young emerging alcoholics. He would say that he was an alcoholic by 15, and he is not alone. Anyone will tell you that, in leaving certificate classes and younger age groups, there are emerging alcoholics, and we simply do not do enough about it. From a public health perspective, we must face up to our community responsibilities to intervene at a much younger stage and confront people individually about drink.

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