Time, please! When will enough, really be enough?

Why do we, a proud people, always ready to defend our rights and those of others, accept such a high threshold when it comes to enduring the harms affected on us by alcohol? Why do we continue to tolerate such frequent interference into our lives and accommodate such levels of disharmony, hassle, threat and stress?

The statistics on Ireland’s extraordinary thirst for alcohol are well rehearsed – currently every single person over 15 (yes, fifteen years old) in Ireland is calculated to have consumed the equivalent of 41 bottle of vodka, or 116 bottles of wine, or 445 pints of beer, in 2017.

Probably the most notable aspect of that illustration is that we calculate our drinkers from those at 15 and over; this year over 60,000 children will commence drinking and contribute to, what industry call, ‘a lifetime of income from responsible drinking’. In truth, there really is no such thing as ‘responsible drinking’ – a cynical phrase, coined by the alcohol industry. In truth, there is only low, medium or high-risk alcohol consumption – and sadly, for our children, our future generation, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.

A recent publication by the HSE of the first dedicated Irish survey on alcohol’s harm to others lays waste to the idea that excessive alcohol consumption is a personal act, free from consequences to others.

In a very important piece of research, carried out over three years, the study highlights the impact of alcohol’s harm to others in Ireland. Children, so often the ‘silent voice’ in this discussion, continue to be deeply impacted, with 12 in 100 children reporting negative consequences because of someone else’s drinking; one in ten experiencing verbal abuse, four in ten witnessing serious violence, and on it goes. How can this be acceptable?

One in two people have reported experiencing harm due to strangers’ drinking. Typically, these experiences range from sleep disturbances to perceived threats to their safety; harassment on the street, feeling unsafe in public or simply being afraid of encountering those who have been drinking.

Yet somehow, we continue to accept this as normal. We think it should be accepted as part and parcel of life in Ireland. Indeed, the perpetrators of such random acts, when outside Ireland often find that their behaviour is far from acceptable and quickly run foul of the authorities. Too frequently we read foreign dispatches of the Irish abroad being arrested for threatening or violent behaviour, fuelled by excessive alcohol consumption. Worse still, home or away, we read of people who, having been drinking, fall victim of an incident where they have lost their life in ‘tragic accidents’. When will begin to call ‘enough’?

Of course, the greatest impact of alcohol’s harm to others comes within our homes. While denial sometimes remains the only option, the levels of stress, harassment, depression and violence experienced by others because of the behaviour of drinkers simply can no longer be acceptable. Two in every five people, report experiencing negative consequences – psychological and tangible harms – due to the drinking of other family members.

A significant revelation within the ‘Untold Story’ report was the scale of impact from alcohol to the workplace. How often have you had to carry the can for someone else? One in seven workers reported work related problems due to workmates drinking, with most reporting either having their own work curtailed, or having to do extra work, to cover someone else’s incapacity. Why must we continue to accommodate such a burden?

One in 20 missed work on 4.4 days in the past year because they had to stay home and look after someone else because of drink. Apart from the hard economic cost, estimated at over €860m, these types of harm from others drinking brings about higher levels of unnecessary hassle and stress. In a shared society, we all have a responsibility to understand the impact of high risk behaviour and the cost borne.

Equally, it is important to appreciate who it is we are talking about here. Yes, there are dependent drinkers involved but to lay all our problems at the feet of ‘alcoholics’ is to completely misunderstand the scale of the dilemma we have with alcohol. In Ireland we have approximately 2.37 million drinkers, of this cohort 1.4 million have a harmful relationship with alcohol. And bear in mind, over 20% of the adult population – one in five – don’t drink at all.

If the group of Ireland’s population who drink were to adopt a low risk approach to their consumption of alcohol, recommended by the HSE (askaboutalcohol.ie), as a nation we would be drinking close to 40% less than we do today. For this to be affected, consumers must be informed of the quantity they consume, which is why adequate health labelling of alcoholic beverages must be mandatory.

More widely, the proposed Public Health Alcohol Bill – a government initiative aimed at reducing alcohol consumption – seeks to establish a new regulatory environment for the sale and marketing of alcohol. By influencing the price, availability, placement and promotion, the modest but progressive measures aim to curb demand, and so reduce alcohol purchases. This initiative, if enacted and implemented in full, will make a notable impact, over time, on our rising levels of alcohol consumption.

We simply must accept that if we are no longer to tolerate the shocking impacts of alcohol’s harm to others, never mind ourselves, less alcohol will have to be sold and consumed.

Opponents of the Public Health Alcohol Bill, criticised the Taoiseach when he suggested ‘denormalisation’ of our relationship with alcohol was essential to solving our serious problem with alcohol.

Denormalisation is correct. In a society where every occasion, from the cradle to grave, and everything in between, is marked with the popping of yet another cork or the splash of a can, isn’t it time we began to say: ‘not this time, I’ve had enough’.