Irish Health Committee supports strong alcohol policy framework

In its report on alcohol and substance misuse issues, the Health and Children Committee of the Irish parliament has come out in favour of tough restrictions on alcohol advertising, minimum unit pricing of alcohol and other control measures.

The report was welcomed by Alcohol Action Ireland, the leading alcohol policy advocacy body in the Republic, but it cautioned that political action was needed to make the recommendations a reality.

Committee on Health and Children

A ban on all retail advertising relating to the discounting of alcoholic products, a ban on the advertisement of alcoholic products on television before 9pm and a ban on the advertisement of alcohol products on social networking websites should be explored by the Government to help deal with the misuse of alcohol and drugs in Ireland, according to the report by the Committee on Health and Children.

The report, The misuse of alcohol and other drugs, also recommends that the Government end VAT refunds on below-cost sales of alcohol and that the Government prohibit the practice of retail deliveries of alcoholic products directly to consumers’ homes.

The majority of the members of the Committee supported the introduction of minimum pricing in respect of alcoholic drinks in a forthcoming public health bill. However, there was a divergence of views within the committee on this matter with a minority supporting, as an alternative, an increase in either or both alcohol expenditure taxes (with the additional revenue generated being ring-fenced for preventative education and the provision of alcohol addiction services).

Other key recommendations are:

That the Government consider how a programme of new, preventative, educational initiatives, aimed at the public in general, could be devised and implemented. The aim of this programme would be to highlight the implications and dangers of alcohol and drug misuse, and to influence the prevailing cultural attitudes, particularly in relation to the use of alcohol.

That the Committee are extremely concerned about the proliferation of outlets which sell alcoholic products and the presentation of such products therein. The Committee recommends that legislation be introduced which would ban the presentation and sale of alcoholic products alongside groceries, confectionery and fuel. Consideration should also be given to an outright ban on the sale of alcohol in certain outlets in the longer term.

That funding under the medical card should cover rehabilitation treatment for alcohol addiction.

Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “The overarching aim of this report is to highlight the prevalence of alcohol and other drugs in society and to emphasise the misuse of alcohol in particular, this being the most commonly used drug - what some have called the ‘national drug’.”

The report hopes to bring about a change in attitudes towards the misuse of alcohol by illustrating the huge personal and economic costs caused by hazardous drinking.

It is the Committee’s belief that there is no single measure which will solve the problem of alcohol misuse. Rather, a package of measures is needed to change our attitudes towards, and behaviour regarding, the consumption of alcohol. The Committee is aware that alcohol consumption per capita is an indicator for alcohol-related harm in any country. Noting the lower levels of total alcohol consumption per capita in 1960’s Ireland, the Committee wishes to see the implementation of measures which will bring about a significant reduction in the overall consumption of alcohol per capita in the coming years.”

Health Committee recommendations welcome - but political action needed to make them a reality

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national charity for alcoholrelated issues, welcomed the Dail Health Committee’s recommendation backing minimum pricing and a raft of other measures on alcohol availability and marketing but urged political action to make the recommendations a reality.

Director Fiona Ryan said: “The Health Committee has shown real leadership in the debate on alcohol consumption and harm and the fact that these measures have all party support is very welcome since it shows increased recognition for the fact that we in Ireland have real problems with alcohol consumption and it is costing us in terms of health, crime and finances, with the latest estimates putting the figure at €3.7 billion.

“There have, however, been other worthwhile reports on alcohol that have made similar recommendations. What is now needed in order to make a real difference is political will and political action to follow through on these recommendations.”

In relation to minimum pricing she said: “We hope that a minimum price for alcohol – a floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold – will now be considered and taken on board as a realistic option for reducing alcohol consumption. At the moment, we have alcohol for sale in shops and supermarkets which can work out cheaper than a bar of chocolate in the same shop.”

Ms Ryan also singled out the recommendation from the committee to restrict alcohol marketing through a 9pm TV watershed and a ban on alcohol marketing on social networking sites: “Mass marketing of alcohol is a concern because alcohol marketing influences young people’s drinking behaviour.

Alcohol education in schools or government can never hope to counter existing levels of commercial alcohol marketing.

“The committee was right to highlight digital marketing and particularly alcohol marketing via social networking sites, since the current voluntary codes are so inadequate it is effectively unregulated. A survey we commissioned showed that 30% of 16 to 17-year-olds with a social networking page had received an unsolicited alcohol ad or alcohol pop-up.

“How can the current voluntary codes on alcohol marketing be achieving their stated aim of reducing young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing when this is happening? We don’t even have a baseline figure on the extent of overall alcohol marketing young people are being exposed to.”

Alcohol Action Ireland’s call for minimum pricing is being backed by the following organisations: Barnardos, The ISPCC, Foroige, the National Youth Council of Ireland, The No Name Club, St Vincent De Paul, Focus Ireland, Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, The Irish Medical Organisation, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, The Irish Cancer Society, The Irish Heart Foundation, The North West Alcohol Forum and the Ballymun Local Drugs Taskforce.