Seanad debates
Wednesday, 7 May 2003
Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption: Motion.
Last weekend when I spent time with my two younger brothers, one aged 24 years and the other 26, I was introduced to their world of drinking. It is a very disciplined lifestyle. They do not drink from Sunday to Thursday. They only drink on Friday and Saturday. As last weekend was a bank holiday weekend, they drank on Saturday and Sunday. The general trend among the younger age group – this is not a generalisation because it is evident from talking to parents – is that there is a drinking indulgence which is expressed in jargon like, "to go flat out for the weekend". On Saturday when I asked one young man whether he was going out on Sunday again, he said, in jest, "I am going to go at it tomorrow like a day's work." I found that remark quite funny but humour apart, he was honest about his drinking. He was going to get his burger and chips at 4 a.m., have a good rest and be up and at it again at 11 a.m. or 12 noon the next day. I, therefore, agree with the part of the motion which relates to advertising. Whatever we can do we must do. As legislators, we have to try everything to tackle the drinking crisis because comments such as these are the language used in peer groups of young men. It is probably not dissimilar in groups of young women but I am reflecting what a young male in his early 20s said to me.
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