The number of people seeking treatment for “hazardous” and “harmful” alcohol use was at its highest level in more than a decade last year, and up 10 per cent on 2022, latest figures from the Health Research Board show.
The National Drug Treatment Reporting System report on alcohol treatment, published on Wednesday, finds 8,163 people were treated for alcohol use last year, a quarter of whom reported mixing alcohol with another drug. Cocaine was the most prevalent additional drug – more than doubling in the seven years from 2017 – from 607 cases to 1,310 last year.
While the majority (61 per cent) of those seeking treatment for the first time were classified as “alcohol dependent” this cohort decreased as a proportion, from 72 per cent in 2017.
Among those who consumed alcohol in the 30 days before treatment, just more than half (51 per cent) consumed daily in the seven years between 2017 and 2023.
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For instance the report found women were “drinking on average more than two bottles of wine in a typical drinking session” or 15 standard drinks, while men were “drinking on average nine pints of beer or more than a half litre of spirits” or 18 standard drinks in a session.
The typical man seeking treatment in 2023 was in his early 40s and more likely to be unemployed than men in general population. Some 60 per cent of those seeking treatment were men. The “typical” woman was in her mid-40s and considerably more likely to be unemployed than women generally.
Among parents with children aged 17 or younger, more than half had at least one child living with them when they entered treatment.
The most common drugs used together with alcohol were cocaine and cannabis, with cannabis and alcohol more prevalent among those aged 19 and under 35 and cocaine the most prevalent additional drug among those aged 20 to 34.
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