Ireland’s reputation for heavy drinking is “well deserved”, with an international survey finding we have the highest number of people seeking medical treatment after drinking.
The Global Drug Survey 2015 questioned more than 100,000 people in more than 50 countries, including almost 2,400 in Ireland.
It found that 2.8% of respondents in Ireland sought emergency medical assistance after drinking — the highest of all countries surveyed.
It was ahead of Brazil (2.2%), Britain (1.6%), and France, Poland, and Belgium (all 1.5%), and over three times the rate of Germany (0.8%) and Spain (0.7%).
The main reasons cited for seeking medical help were accidents, injuries, nausea, passing out, poor mood, memory loss, violence, and self-harm.
The GDS is an independent organisation, comprising academics and health professionals, and is led by London-based consultant addiction psychiatrist Adam Winstock.
The anonymous online survey was conducted last November and December. Dr Winstock said it was not a random sample of the general population, but of people “self-nominating” themselves. He said the bias was towards active drug users and the younger, more educated, population.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 09/06/15
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