According to Alcohol Ireland, the social lubricant that forms our national pastime is a factor in a great deal of the social problems in Irish life, be they visible or invisible. We have come to accept as the norm the influence of alcohol in our overflowing A&E departments on weekend nights, and wring our hands at the news of another suicide, without asking what drove a young person so deep into their depression, or clouded their judgement. But does anything really change in our drinking culture?
“He likes his pint” we say, in understatement of a person who is violent in the family home. “She’s fond of a drink” is a turn of phrase used to describe someone who has met what could turn out to be the fond love of the rest of her life. In serving guests, “a heavy hand” can be thought a virtue. “He can hold his drink.” Our words betray the acceptance and even affection held for a freely-available product that, misused, can and does destroy lives in our communities.
Tackling misuse – top-down
To combat the problem, an all-party group on alcohol misuse was launched last month in Leinster House, chaired by TD Ged Nash. The group is seeking to progress legislation and policy to help reduce alcohol harm in Ireland, placing particular emphasis on the Public Health Alcohol Bill.
According to Deputy Ged Nash: “The impact of alcohol abuse in Ireland has far-reaching consequences for those affected, their families, communities, and workplaces. In addition, the cost of dealing with alcohol-related harm costs the State in the region of 3.7 billion euro annually, with our health system alone footing a bill of over 1 billion euro.”
To mark the launch of the group, former political advisor to the British Labour Party, Alastair Campbell, addressed its inaugural meeting. “In the UK, public policy around alcohol misuse is being heavily influenced by the sophisticated and well-resourced alcohol lobby rather than being directed in the interest of public health,” he said. “It is vital that Ireland’s Government are not swayed by similar pressure and prioritise public health over the profit of vested, corporate interests.”
Such lobby groups devise schemes to encourage us to “drink responsibly”, rather than to reduce our consumption. Or even to reconsider our drinking habits…
Alcohol Action Ireland CEO, Suzanne Costello, said her organisation will support the work of the group in whatever way they can, and believes it is a chance to “begin to address our harmful relationship with alcohol through … policies targeting the pricing, marketing and availability of alcohol,” she said.
View from the Coalface
Elected representatives and charities can and, we hope, will help us address the problem. However, in an Ireland where it has become possible for those directly affected to speak of deeply personal issues such as depression, it seems likely that even more applicable solutions will come from those who have stared alcohol problems in the face – and beat them.
One such person is Lilly Laine. A married mother of two born and raised in Ireland, Laine recently published her book Action Plan for Living with an Alcoholic, which describes methods and actions she devised for dealing with her husband’s alcoholism over ten harrowing years. Years that could have meant the end for her family.
Laine’s unique approach and positive actions resulted in her husband deciding to go into rehab, and he’s now very happily long-term sober. Her research uncovered a great deal of support and many rehab options for alcohol addicts, but hardly anything available for those suffering the effects of living with them, so she is now reaching out to others in that position.
While the book and her website (howtolivewithanalcoholic.com) are written to encourage others to move toward the light at the end of the tunnel, they offer a wealth of insight that can only add to our understanding of alcohol abuse.
Above all, Laine writes with endless compassion for both the alcoholic and those negatively affected by alcohol. On her website, she writes of her book: “I have kept the price low, but if you can’t afford it, please let me know and I will send you a copy free of charge.”
I’ll take simple kindness like that over ’responsible drinking' any day.
Friends Read Free