Harm caused by alcohol remains key challenge – Swann

Date published: 25 March 2021

The Minister was speaking following the publication of a report from NISRA which examines recent trends in alcohol-specific mortality in Northern Ireland and highlights the associated socio-demographic linkages.

The Health Minister said: “My Department worked with NISRA on this report as part of the evidence base for the development of a new alcohol and drug strategy for Northern Ireland aimed at preventing and addressing the harms related to all substance use.

“The harm related to alcohol use is one of the key public health challenges we face, each one of these deaths is preventable and it is vital that we all as a society do more to address the harm that alcohol causes.”

Minister Swann said: “We can see from this report the very real and increasing harm that alcohol consumption can cause to individuals, families and communities right across the province. Importantly the evidence also shows us that the harms do not impact equally on all parts of our society, therefore we need to do more to address these health inequalities.

“The learning we have from reports like this will be built into our new Substance Use strategy. The public consultation on this new strategy finished in February and we are currently analysing the many comments received.”

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said: “If people drink too much, they can put themselves and those around them at risk of harm. As a society we need to continue to challenge drinking behaviours at both an individual and a population-wide level.”

Dr McBride said “I, alongside counterparts in the other UK administrations have developed alcohol guidelines which provide the public with clear advice on the risks associated with consuming too much alcohol. These guidelines take into account research in relation to the harmful impact alcohol consumption can have on people’s health, including the risk of developing various cancers. To drink at low risk, men and women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week – approximately 6 pints of beer or 6 glasses of wine.”

Concluding Minister Swann said: “It is the desire to tackle the harms caused by alcohol that led me to make a commitment to have a full public consultation on the introduction into Northern Ireland of Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol. Work on developing this consultation will begin as soon as the new Substance Use strategy is finalised.”