New figures on alcohol abuse by young people should “scare the hell out of any parent” as they reveal the “serious damage” to health underage drinking is causing.
This is the view of Labour Galway city councillor Niall McNelis, who was reacting to a report released this week by the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin. The study found that between 1995 and 2007 the rate of discharges for alcoholic liver disease increased by 247 per cent for 15-to-34 year olds and by 224 per cent for 35-to-49 year olds.
“In Ireland we have not faced up to the fact we have a major problem with alcohol abuse,” he said. “It has not been meaningfully tackled, and as this report shows, it is inflicting major damage on the health of our people and on Irish society.”
Cllr McNelis said he “fully supports” the recommendations by the National Substance Misuse Strategy for tackling alcohol abuse, in particular minimum pricing and curbing alcohol sponsorship, including at sporting events.
He is now calling on the Government to “move swiftly and to fully implement the recommendations of the National Substance Misuse Strategy
