Here are 3 facts;
1/. The government commissioned report “On a National Substance Misuse Strategy, February 2012” stated that……. Alcohol-related illness cost the healthcare system €1.2bn in 2007. In 2007 it was estimated that alcohol led to costs of €500m in the acute hospital sector, €574m in GP and allied health services and €104m in mental health services.
2/. The HSE recently announced €130 million in health cuts. (I know there was a change in some of these cuts in the meantime).
3/. Nine doctors in Donegal made clear their opinion on cheap alcohol and its high cost.
[broken link removed]
http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/18292/
I would love to know do AAM contributors think banning cheap alcohol is the best way to achieve a reduction of HSE expenditure?
Answer yes, no, or criticize the question if you want. (I do of course realise that there may be legal obstacles to banning the sale of cheap alcohol in Ireland).
To me there's a couple of ready-made solutions available to us to begin to reduce the toll alcohol is loading on us societally and financially, all we need is the will to use existing laws as they were designed.
- Refuse service to people who appear to be already drunk in pubs, clubs, ,etc. Prosecute licencees who fail to comply with this condition of their licence.
- Arrest and charge the parents of drunk under-age children and those who procure alcohol for them.
Your information is only partially correct, if you pre-fix "alcoholics"in your post with "some" the it becomes more accurate.Just to point out that alcoholics rarely appear to be drunk in pubs, clubs etc... They can consume huge volumes while appearing to be fairly with it. Not only that but as the need to hide the condition deepens, they will buy the booze in off licences and supermarkets while sober (or relatively so), bring it home and consume it there.
Is there any evidence to show that any of the following lead to a reduction of consumption which in turn leads on to lower public medical costs?
We have no evidence in Ireland because we have never instituted these bans
Is it not rather fanciful to expect that people with alcohol dependency (who as a group are most susceptible to alcohol-related illness) will quit drinking if it is more expensive?
"A)
There is clearly a massive contradiction in reducing licensing controls and legislative measures and warning people of the dangers of this drug that is priced lower, and more readily available for longer hours than ever
The non-smoking thing is only half-done at best....
I think Ireland were leaders with the smoking ban. I would like to see Ireland leading the way on banning cheap alcohol too.
Try walking into a pub, restaurant, club, hospital or betting shop and you have to brave the fug of second-hand smoke surrounding the entrances.
"Enforcement Officers" in hospitals and other public buildings have no powers to fine, eject, report or otherwise impose penalties on detected smokers.
Meanwhile, the footpaths, drains, roadways and green areas in cities and towns are littered with a growing collection of cigarette butts whose cellulose filters take between 7 and 8 years to decompose. If you add in discarded wrappings, packets, matches, lighters, plastic tips from cigars, etc this Green Isle of ours is turning into a huge smelly ash-tray.
Anyone pointing to the smoking ban as an unqualified success or as a model for banning cheap booze needs to open their eyes and their noses.
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