Carrickmacross

PTAA Brings Community Together
Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan

Carrickmacross PTAA decided to hold an information night/discussion forum in the Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross to tackle the problem of underage drinking and misuse of illegal substances within the area. Local teachers, counsellors, businesspersons, parents and clergy alike were invited to attend. The aim of this meeting was to provide information about the misuse of alcohol and drugs within Ireland today, to discuss the present situation in the locality, and to generate ideas on how to tackle these problems.

Two guest speakers were in attendance.

Speaker No.1 Dr Mick Loftus, Coroner, North Mayo.

Mick, himself a lifelong pioneer, spoke of how through his job he sees the effects of alcohol. Alcohol is a potent drug that causes more health problems than tobacco.
Some statistics:

Alcohol related deaths 60% in North Mayo
If you have one drink you are twice as likely to have an accident.
If you have 2 or more you are 5 times more likely to have an accident.
50% of A&E attendance's in the Mater Hospital, Dublin are alcohol related.
30% of fatal head injuries in Beaumont Hospital are alcohol related.
60% of suicides are alcohol related
26% of drowning are alcohol related

No one can doubt that these statistics are frightening.

Youth and Alcohol

Alcohol is the number one drug among young people.
39% of Under 16's drink 20 times a year.
Half Under 12's experiment with alcohol.
Half of girls and two thirds of boys aged 16 are regular drinkers.

Alcohol and Sport / Festivals

Alcohol is associated with sport and is exploited by the drinks industry. It gives alcohol a youthful appeal, associates it with fitness and success. 50m Euro per year is spent by the drinks industry on sponsorship and promotion, this sponsorship essentially buys silence no one can criticise this or they'll risk being the needed money for sports events and festivals.
In France it is illegal to advertise alcohol in sports grounds and youth magazines. This results in 60% lower consumption of alcohol and 23% fewer accidents.
Overall the drinks industry takes no responsibility for the effects it causes. This is a double standard accepted by society as if any other products caused such ill social effects, there would be social outrage.

Speaker No.2 Dr Teresa Carey, Clinical Director, St Davnitts Hospital

In the last 6 years alcohol consumption in Ireland has increased by 41%. In direct relation to this so too have alcohol-related problems increased. As well as physical signs such as cirrhosis, RTA's and increases in drunk and disorderly offences. There are also the hidden side effects such as break up in relationships, divorce, and effects on children.

Binge Drinking

Popular among young people. Problems associated with binge drinking are increased violence among young people, and drunk driving. These particular problems are not caused by alcoholics, but by social drinkers drinking too much and being irresponsible.

Change in Alcohol Consumption

Change in alcohol consumption is due to increasing revenue in the country, the price of alcohol has not increased as with other products, and the increased availability of alcohol, due to change in licensing laws i.e. Alcohol now available in local supermarkets. No effort is needed to purchase alcohol. Consequently, young people drinking at an earlier age, and the long-term consequences are not considered, such as effects on health and developing unhealthy drinking patterns.

Attitude Shift

In recent times society's attitude towards drunkenness has changed. It is no longer a social embarrassment to be drunk in public, society is no longer horrified by this. Another shift is in relation to young people. It is accepted that you cannot have a good time unless you are drunk.
It is socially acceptable to allow teenagers to drink alcohol earlier, this responsibility lies with parents.

In conclusion, Alcohol is a drug, and therefore must be treated with respect and caution.

Following these speakers those in attendance had a lengthy discussion about the problems in the local area and many views were expressed. It was decided to form a task force to combat the misuse of alcohol and drugs within the community. The aim of this task force is to find alternatives to alcohol/drugs for the young people in the community so that they can learn that life is enjoyable without alcohol or drugs.

We thank the members of Carrickmacross PTAA for their kind invitation to this meeting, it was a worthwhile initiative on their part. We wish the newly elected task force every success in their venture, and hope similar initiatives may be undertaken in other areas.

Gillian Lynch, PRO UYC