Ireland Plans Alcohol Marketing Crackdown:
Alarmed that Ireland has become one of the hardest-drinking countries in Europe, the government announced Monday it plans to require health warnings on alcoholic drinks and limit liquor ads that invade every corner of Irish life.
Becoming one of the hardest-drinking countries in Europe? The article addresses this:
The Irish have long been stereotyped as heavy drinkers, but past surveys have suggested the reputation was undeserved and Ireland was actually one of Europe’s more moderate drinking nations. In the past decade, however, figures show that has changed and Ireland has become a leading alcohol consumer.
[...]
A 1999 European Union-funded survey placed Ireland top among the 15 EU nations in terms of the percentage of citizens who consider themselves regular drinkers ? 51.5 percent. A World Drinks Trends survey in 2002 placed Ireland second only to tiny Luxembourg among EU members in per-capita volume of alcohol consumed, at 2.85 gallons of pure alcohol each year. The United States average was 1.77 gallons.
What are they going to do?
To that end, he said, the government plans to ban alcohol ads from buses, trains, cinemas and sporting events involving young people, while no ads for beer or other alcoholic beverages would be permitted before 10 p.m. on Irish television.
This part’s almost more shocking:
Together, the commitments represent as significant a shift in official attitudes to Irish traditions as the government’s recent commitment to outlaw smoking in pubs. That ban is supposed to begin Jan. 1.