How often have you heard it said that drinking is part of our culture, part of our social norm, part of our economy? There’s reality and truth in this. You’re not a bad person if you like a drink, or for that matter if you don’t, and the Irish pub is a venue to be preserved as part of our natural heritage.
On the flip side though, since you sat down last to Christmas dinner, at least 1,100 people have died on this island from an alcohol-related condition. There are more than 1,000 families numbed this Christmas after suffering potentially avoidable bereavements.
Christmas is about celebration and relaxation, and alcohol is part of the way we celebrate and relax. It’s built into many Christmas activities and events. It’s been the enabler of the craic for generations and it has on occasions fuelled good memories.
This year, the Alcohol Forum’s Christmas message doesn’t want to prevent any of that. It simply offers advice and tips on how to manage that drinking, how to stay safe and how to look out for others so that everyone can enter the new year with positive memories of the celebrations.
Source: Eamon O'Kane, Irish Times, 22/12/2011
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