The HSE yesterday released a major report into the harm caused by alcohol in Ireland.
The study made for stark reading: people cited family problems, physical assaults, money problems, vandalism, and drunk driving, all caused by people in their lives drinking too much.
Ireland’s attitude to alcohol has been much documented. While the number of people who abstain from drinking completely is high – 13 per cent of the population, according to a 2011 study – the way in which many people drink is problematic, with Irish adults binge drinking more than adults in any other European country.
These four graphs from yesterday’s report show the effect of misuse of alcohol and the harm that it has caused to people in Ireland.
1. The prevalence of alcohol-related harm
This graph breaks down alcohol-related harm by gender and by age. It shows that the biggest problem by far was physical assault. More than 1 in 5 men aged between 18 and 29 have experienced a physical assault involving alcohol. The next most common form of harm was family problems, with 20.8 per cent of women in the same age bracket reporting them.
The graph breaks down five specific issues – family problems, being a passenger with a drunk driver, property vandalised, physical assault and money problems. The results found that people aged 18 to 29 were most likely to have experienced harm as a result of alcohol, while people aged over 50 were least likely to report problems.
Almost all of the figures decrease over time, except for two: women who had had property vandalised increased, and money problems also increased over time.
Source: Christine Bohan, thejournal.ie, 25/03/14
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