Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Related Harm in Ireland 2010/2011

Cover of Report A new report by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) entitled: 'Drug use in Ireland and Northern Ireland: Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-Related Harm in Ireland 2010/2011 Drug Prevalence Survey' was published yesterday.

Speaking at the launch in the Department of Health, Dublin, Minister Roisin Shortall said: “It is crucial that we as a society reduce the overall level of alcohol consumed in Ireland and also tackle the problems of alcohol misuse. I am determined that effective steps will be taken over the coming period to address problems associated with alcohol across our society."

Key findings from the report:

The rate of abstinence from alcohol among 18-64 year-olds in the 12 months prior to the survey was 13%.
Women (15%) were more likely than men (11%) to be non–drinkers and respondents aged 50–64 years (19%) were more likely to abstain compared with 18–24 year-olds (7%).
Eighty seven per cent of adults aged 18–64 years consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months and these were classified as current drinkers in this survey.
Men were more likely to consume alcohol at least twice weekly compared with women (31% vs. 21%). Those aged 50–64 years-old were the most likely to consume alcohol at least twice weekly with 39% of males and 22% of females in this age group drinking this often.
Women (31%) were more likely than men (18%) to consume 1–2 standard drinks per drinking occasion which is classified as being within low risk daily consumption limits.
Drinkers aged 18–24 years drank the most alcohol on a typical drinking occasion with 73% consuming at least five standard drinks and 31% consuming at least nine standard drinks per drinking occasion which equates with four and a half pints of beer or one and one quarter bottles of wine.
The survey examined patterns of harmful drinking using the WHO’s AUDIT-C screening tool and harmful drinkers were identified as those who had a score of five or more. Based on this screening tool, 50% of the survey population aged 18–64 years and 58% of current drinkers were classified as consuming alcohol in a harmful manner.
Harmful drinking, using AUDIT-C scores, was more common among men (63%) than women (37%) in the survey population. When this screening tool was applied to current drinkers, more male drinkers (71%) than female drinkers (44%) consumed alcohol in a harmful manner. Harmful drinking was more common among 18-24 year-olds in the survey population (70%) and also among 18-24 year-olds in the current drinkers group (75%) than among their older adult counterparts.
Risky single occasion drinking (RSOD), defined as consuming at least 75g of alcohol on a single drinking occasion, one or more times per month is also considered a harmful pattern of alcohol consumption; this is commonly described as binge drinking. In 2010/11, 45% of the survey population aged 18-64 years and 52% of current drinkers consumed alcohol in this manner in the previous 12 months.
Male respondents (57%) were more likely than female respondents (33%) to binge drink one or more times per month. When this parameter was calculated among current drinkers, 64% of men and 39% of women reported binge drinking.
Over two-thirds of survey respondents and 72% of current drinkers, aged 18-24 years, engaged in monthly binge drinking in the 12 months prior to the survey.
One in five drinkers reported that they had experienced harm in the previous 12 months as a result of their drinking, with men almost twice as likely as women to report harm, such as harm to health, work and friendship (26% vs. 14%).
Harm to health was reported by 13% of drinkers with 24% of 18–24 year-olds reporting this harm.
Over one quarter of respondents (27%) reported that they had experienced harm in the previous year as a result of someone else’s drinking; these harms include family problems, being assaulted and being a passenger with a drunk driver.

The NACD was established in response to the drug problem to assist in our continued need to improve our knowledge and understanding of problem drug use.

Download the report

Posted by Andy on 09/25 at 09:23 AM in (0) Comments