Irish society must adopt a more responsible attitude to alcohol consumption – FitzgeraldMinister’s Department in contact with FacebookFrances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs has today said Irish society must adopt a more responsible attitude to alcohol consumption and she called on young adults not to engage in the ‘nek-nominations’ craze and not to apply peer-pressure when it comes to drinking.
Minister Fitzgerald stated: “The current craze relating to ‘nek-nominations’ is very worrying. ‘Nek-nominations’ is NOT a game. Some people may have considered it harmless fun, but, regrettably as we have seen in recent days it can be highly dangerous and potentially lethal.”
“I would ask everybody, in particular young adults, not to engage in this very dangerous form of drinking”.
Minister Fitzgerald today confirmed that officials from her Department have been in contact with Facebook regarding the current issue of ‘Nek-nominations’. While Facebook has declined to take down pages and videos, they have advised Minister Fitzgerald that they may intervene if bullying or coercive behaviour relating to the‘nek-nominations’ craze is reported to it.
The Minister said that: “the ‘nek-nominations’ craze yet again shows the very serious problem we have in Ireland as a direct result of the misuse and abuse of alcohol. But rather than just blaming social media, let us be clear: ‘nek-nominations’ is driven ultimately by a very negative form of peer pressure. The problem is not technology. It is society. ‘Nek-nominations’ show we still have a long way to go in developing a healthy societal attitude to the consumption of alcohol.”
Minister Fitzgerald added that: “The harsh reality is that 1.5 million Irish drinkers drink in a harmful pattern.”
The Minister noted that alcohol misuse remains a key contributor to illness and death in Ireland. Alcohol is associated with 2,000 beds being occupied every night in Irish acute hospitals, one-quarter of injuries presenting to emergency departments and over half of attendances to specialised addiction treatment centres.
The Minister further noted that the latest ESPAD report on drinking among 15 and 16-year-olds across Europe has found that Irish students reported drinking a third more on their latest drinking day than the European average. In this study, Irish students reported that, in the 30 days prior to the survey
Half (48% boys and 52% girls) had drunk alcohol
40% had 5+ drinks on a single drinking occasion
23% had one or more episodes of drunkenness
In 2010, 18.3% of children aged 10-17 reported that they had been drunk at least once in the last 30 days.
The Minister outlined that “the Government approved the drafting of a health oriented Public Health (Alcohol) Bill to provide for the minimum unit pricing of retail alcohol products (subject to consideration of an ongoing North-South analysis). The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is due to be published later this year by Minister of State Alex White. The Government also decided on a phased approach to regulation and restriction of advertising.”