Sir, – I was delighted to read Dr Jacky Jones (HealthPlus July 26th) on education as a determinant of health. My own interest is in prevention of drug and alcohol problems, and Dr Jones is right: talks about the dangers of substance misuse rarely lead to reduced consumption of drugs and in some cases are counter-productive.
A recently published Irish survey studied drug use among early school-leavers and those who stayed in school. The survey concluded that the same factors underlie early school leaving and substance misuse and that a lack of connection between student and school is one of the main factors. Where this connection is strong, a student is more likely to stay in school up to 16 years of age and is less likely to misuse drugs and alcohol.
The conclusion? In social, personal and health education (SPHE) the human, inter-personal, relational factors are more important than the factual content. They are the foundation upon which a young person can build self-esteem, self-care, wisdom and good decision-making. Any teacher in a school, and any parent at home, who relates well to a young person is contributing constructively to prevention of substance misuse, even without mention of the words “drugs” or “alcohol”. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Dr Fenton Howell’s claim (July 27th) that the €450 million lost to the Exchequer on foot of a halving of alcohol consumption would be replaced as this money was applied elsewhere in the economy is wide of the mark. It misses the point that this sum refers to the excise receipts from special taxes on alcoholic beverages and does not include VAT receipts and other taxes generated by this expenditure. Effective tax rates are higher on alcohol than on most other items of consumer spending and on savings, so unless reduced spending on alcohol were to result higher spending on items such as tobacco and petrol (which are are also subject to very high excise taxation) there would be a significant net loss to the Exchequer. And, of course, higher spending on smoking and driving would generate other social costs, so the win-win scenario outlined by Dr Howell is a mirage.
In any event, recent discussion of the level of alcohol-related damage in this paper and elsewhere has been mainly based on figures relating to 2008 at the latest. Account should be taken of the fact that Irish alcohol consumption has continued its steep decline since then. The estimate of a loss of €450 million in alcohol excise taxes we quoted was based on Revenue receipts for 2010. These receipts were already down by some 25 per cent from the 2008 level, suggesting that overall alcohol consumption has declined by a similar amount over the last two years. – Yours, etc,