OPINION Raise a glass to students - but never drink too much

FORTUNATELY this year, with the exception of an assault in Dublin, the stories about the Leaving Cert students in Thursday's papers failed to provide the tales of drink-fuelled mayhem expected in many quarters.

However, it would be wrong to think that, out of the spotlight of publicity, there is not a youth drink problem in Ireland.

There is no doubt that many young people do drink - and the fact that many of them drink to excess is also a very sad reality.

Although the drink culture in Ireland is not a new thing, it has, in recent years, been allowed to escalate unchecked. Now today's younger generation are bearing the brunt of that escalation.

Between 1990 and 2000, drink consumption in Ireland rose by 41 per cent - and this at a time when most European countries have shown either a fall in drinking or modest rises under 10 per cent.

The figures, compiled by the Strategic Task Force On Alcohol, do not even take into account the effect the extension of pub hours has had on the country.

Anecdotal evidence and statements by the gardai would suggest, however, that the longer drinking hours have led to a further rise in drink consumption, or certainly a change in the nature of it.

Particularly disturbing is the estimated 97 per cent rise in public order offences, almost the same increase as the rise in spirit consumption since 1996.

The variety of spirits on the market and the resultant competitive drive to sell them has meant that there is a huge media presence to many brands, alongside the ads for beer, wine, cider and 'alcopops'.

How can we expect schools to convince young people that drinking to excess is not a good idea when they have to contend with brewers and distillers armed with huge advertising budgets.

The advertisers know all the psychological tricks to sell the product - that is their job.

How can a classroom teacher compete with computer animated cartoon- like figures subtly promising sexual success and a good time in a glass?

It would be wrong to think that ads are solely to blame. The most influential factor in young people drinking is the society around them. This includes parents, friends, older brothers and sisters and the people they see every day on the street and on television.

In a report by the Scottish Executive on Young People And Alcohol Misuse, peer pressure was considered the biggest factor in young people drinking by the young people themselves. Nobody, after all wants to be the odd one out.

The young people's view that 'everyone else is doing it' is not limited to other young people - the 'everyone else' includes parents and the other groups mentioned above.

As individuals we all portray drink in a certain way to those around us. This is the most significant factor in influencing young people's attitudes to drink.

Calls for measures to be introduced to deal with underage drinking have ranged from fining parents and criminalising young people to demands for greater numbers of CCTV cameras, compulsory state identification and more guards.

NOT one of these measures deals with drink itself or where it is bought. The facts are that underage drinkers are likely to get their drink either in the home, or by getting someone of the legal age to buy it for them.

Unscrupulous publicans and off-licence owners exist too and they should be made to ask for identification. This is not the same as making it compulsory for people to carry identification - everyone is entitled to run the risk of not being served.

At present in Ireland the deregulation of liquor licensing is being discussed.

If passed, this change would basically mean drink would be made available from more outlets. Any greater availability will mean even more outlets to police, a task which the gardai are already finding difficult.

This greater availability, we are told, will lead to more competition which, in turn, is supposed to lead to a 'better deal' for the consumer.

On closer examination that just won't be the case.

Firstly, in a more competitive drinking market greater promotion and marketing will be required for the various players to survive - and the cost of this marketing will have to be passed on to the consumer at some point.

The result of increased marketing will be a further rise in drinking and maybe here the 1990 to 2000 figures could indicate what could be in store for us: Rises in public order offences by over 100 per cent costing the taxpayer huge amounts in Garda man-hours and alcohol related illnesses costing e2.4 billion per year. A better deal? You decide.

Drink is a drug and like all drugs demand breeds supply. It is now up to everybody of all ages to show a measure of self-control when it comes to drinking and to cut back on the rise in alcohol consumption in order to check this demand.

It is only this way that we can begin to solve the problems created by excessive drinking in Ireland.

Drinking responsibly will also have the effect of showing others what you see as acceptable, drinking by example in other words.

There is no point in fooling ourselves that the current generation of young people discovered their urge for drink by licking it off the rocks. We have all had an influence and, by example, helped create what we see in the papers and in the news.

The drinks trade has a responsibility to put people over profits, advertisers do too.

But we as individuals are also influential. It's not good enough to try and 'fix' young people - the repair has to begin with ourselves.

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