There's too much drinking here, particularly binge drinking however that's defined. Although I think the proposal to get the drinks industry to voluntarily cut back on advertising is doomed, something has to be done (and, no, it doesn't have to be done by the government).
I don't think advertising actually leads to more drinking. Advertising for alcohol is, I believe, more about market share than market growth. Reducing the amount of alcohol-related advertising will have zero effect on the health of the nation.
It can be difficult to pin down, but drinking just permeates the culture here. Advertising is about selling specific products, but the market size is really built by the attitude to drinking in the society.
All family occasions – weddings, funerals, Christenings (you have to 'wet the baby's head') – demand alcohol. Social occasions are built around alcohol. "Are you going for a pint?"
These traditions are only a small part of the problem. The real problem is that these traditions have created a tolerance that, combined with all the new money, makes it almost impossible to imagine what can be done to convince people to drink less.
Walk through Dublin on a summer's evening – well before nightfall – and you'll have to pick your way through hordes of drinkers who've abandoned the pub for a smoke or some fresh air. All strata of society (young, old, rich, poor) are out on the street, frequently inebriated, unbothered about who might see them. I don't think it's legal, but do the Gardai make any effort to prevent this? Not that I've seen. There's just nothing 'unacceptable' about it.
That's only a small example. It's impossible to say how much is 'tolerable', but right now Ireland is drinking too much. The nation needs a friend to look us in the eye and say, "You've got a problem".
