Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Irish spend three times EU average on alcohol

Irish people spend almost three and a half times more of their income on alcohol than the European average, an EU-wide survey reveals.

A study on household expenditure across the 27 EU member states highlights how Irish consumers are the biggest spenders in Europe on alcohol by a long distance.

It estimates that more than €4 out of every €100 spent in Ireland is on alcohol compared with the EU average of just €1.20.

The survey, by the EU statistical office, Eurostat, shows that the average Irish household spends 4.1% of its budget on alcohol — well ahead of the nation with the next highest expenditure on booze — Romania at just 2.3%.

The figures are based on 2005 spending patterns, the latest year for which comparative statistics are available.

Health Services Executive public health specialist, Dr Joe Barry, expressed surprise that Irish spending on alcoholic drinks as a percentage of total expenditure was not even higher. The figures look at expenditure by household rather than by adults.

“However, the figures are consistent with other findings that alcohol consumption levels in the Republic are about 30% higher than the EU average,” said Dr Barry.

He pointed out that a survey of Irish third-level students a few years ago showed they spent more on alcohol than food. Dr Barry expressed concern that a strategy to reduce Ireland’s drink culture and associated problems was still not being implemented.

However, the findings indicate that overall spending on alcohol in Ireland is falling as expenditure on alcohol represented 5.5% of total household spend in 2001.

They also show that Irish people spend almost 18% of their budget on food, drink and tobacco and 30.6% on housing. Irish consumers also spend less on groceries, clothing and footwear, housing, health and transport than their European counterparts.

The survey provides evidence that Ireland is one of the EU’s richest economies as we spend more of our income on recreation, leisure, and education than most Europeans. We spend 6% of our income on restaurants and 4.4% on health and education.
__________
source: Irish Examiner

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Treatment for bi-polar disorder

Bi-polar is a disorder where you experience periods of excitability along with the periods of depression. This swing of moods from one emotion to the other can be very abrupt. The very common treatment for the bi-polar disorder is the mood-stabilizing medicines like the carbamazepine, lithium and valproic acid. These medications are very effective to….

Treatment of ADHD

ADHD is an “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”, which greatly affects a child’s ability to concentrate on a particular work, making him impulsive and hyperactive. The ADHD is a common “psychiatric disorder” found in children and if not treated timely then this disorder has long-term effects into the “adolescence and the adulthood” of the child. Therefore,….

So many women under alcohol influence

Drunk and disengaged, they put themselves, others in danger This promises to be a good year for Renee Palmer. Next month, she celebrates 10 years of sobriety. Looking back, Palmer hardly recognizes the woman she was in her 30s: a woman who would empty a 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi, leaving just enough to season a….

Alcohol Deaths

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that more young people today are dying from alcohol-related accidents. Among 18 to 24 year olds, the number of deaths has risen by over 20 percent in the last ten years. “I woke up in the driver’s side seat, blood all over me, glass everywhere. The….

Quaker faith helps alcoholic to quit drinking

A recovered alcoholic from Maldon said he has his Quaker faith to thank for helping him stay alive. Anthony told BBC Essex’s Ian Wyatt he started to drink when he was 20, shortly after joining the Air Force. Having had a religious upbringing as a Pentecostalist, he had never previously drank or smoked. After 25….