MEDICAL MATTERS:It will surprise no one that the Republic is at number three in the alcohol consumption table, writes MUIRIS HOUSTON
DURING A recent visit to Finland, I was bemused to see a number of shop fronts, entirely without advertising, called ALKOS. It turned out that this is the collective name for the State- run chain of off-licences.
Apart from the unfortunate double-entendre of ALKOS for English speakers, the name is a reminder of one of the reasons why Finland has gone from near the top of a World Health Organisation – Europe league table of national alcohol consumption to its current status at number 16.
Guide books to the country still refer to Finns as being one of the highest alcohol consumers in the world. A national proverb, “a drop does not kill and a barrel won’t drown you”, is a sign that booze has traditionally greased the turning of society’s wheel.
However, at 9.3 litres of alcohol consumed per capita, it lags well behind Luxembourg which is top of the WHO league table at 15.5 litres per capita.
It will surprise no one that the Republic is at number three in the alcohol consumption table, with 13.5 litres of beer, wine and spirits statistically going down the hatch for every man, woman and child here every year.
The Finns have a track record of successful public health initiatives.
They have brought about huge reductions in cardiovascular mortality in the past 20 years. Compared with other European capitals, levels of obesity appear lower on the streets of Helsinki.
While not eradicating alcoholism, Finns seem to have stemmed the rising tide of alcohol-related health problems.
We, on the other hand, are a national basket case when it comes to alcohol. Fuelled in part by the excesses of the Celtic Tiger, our historically uneasy relationship with the drug is now completely out of control.
Probably the most extreme example of how far down the destructive path we have gone was illustrated by research published in 2007.
Plastic surgeons at St James’s Hospital, Dublin, reported that alcohol or drugs were a factor in more than 90 per cent of human bite injuries.
“Many of these injuries occur during late night, alcohol-
fuelled aggression with 82 per cent occurring between 11pm and 4am. This may be related to the closure of many bars at 2am discharging many inebriated people onto the streets at the same time. Fights break out and bites occur,” the researchers said.
Binge-drinking, defined as taking six or more drinks in a single drinking session, is most common among the 18-29 age group here.
Research suggests that recommended drinking limits – 21 standard drinks for men and 14 for women – are actually drunk on one or two binge-drinking occasions rather than spread out over the week.
A 2003 CLAN survey revealed high levels of alcohol consumption among university students. One in 10 used alcohol to forget worries and one in 20 drank when anxious or depressed.
Some 61 per cent of male students engaged in binge drinking once a week (at least four pints of beer or a bottle of wine in a single session).
For females, 44 per cent reported at least weekly binge drinking. When analysed further, the results showed that out of every 100 drinking occasions, 76 ended up in binge drinking for males and 60 for female students.
Regular binge drinkers were twice as likely to miss college or work. And the extent of alcohol-related harm among college students was of “major concern . . . the physical wellbeing and welfare of students was compromised due to the risk of fights, accidents and high-risk sexual activity”, researchers concluded.
One of the most worrying consequences of teenage drinking is the relationship between it and depression.
The psychological effects of bingeing are two-fold; depression secondary to alcohol abuse is a well established outcome in all age groups.
Among the young, however, there appears to be a transient – but real – risk of a suicidal gesture at a point when they are deeply ashamed of their alcoholic excess.
When are we going to face up to this time bomb? Are we going to do something about it, like the Finns, or will we continue to muddle along, content to fund our health system to pick up the pieces of severely damaged lives?
- Dr Muiris Houston is pleased to hear from readers at mhouston@irishtimes.com but regrets he cannot respond to individual queries