Both binge drinking and drunkenness have increased. Girls are drinking much more spirits than before. It is clear that the new range of spirit based drinks are extremely popular. This negative trend continues across a wide range of categories. When comparing our results to those of other European countries, the news is also disappointing.
Irish teenagers are close to the top in many of the categories in the survey.
The number of occasions of drinking, of being drunk, and of binge drinking all place Ireland with the highest in Europe. While the news is bad it is important to remember there are many 16 year olds who are not drinking and abusing alcohol. Well over half of them are not into drinking, at least not with any regularity. These young people need to be supported in the decisions they are taking and those who are abusing alcohol need to be made aware of the dangers of their drinking. Now that the problem is clear, the question is what do we do about it.