A portrait of our drinking: report of the North West Alcohol Forum June 2004.

This report is entitled "A Portrait of Our Drinking" and employs both local and national data in describing the impact of alcohol on our region. Information contained in this report has been collected from consultations, interviews, established sources of data and purposeful data collection. Key Results: Alcohol consumption has risen dramatically in the past number of years and so too has the harm associated with this increase in consumption. Drinking habits in the North West mirror that of other rural health board areas with 65% of women and 82% of men classified as regular alcohol drinkers. 14% of people within our area drink on 5 or more occasions per week and almost a quarter of the population drink over the recommended weekly limit for alcohol. With regard to adolescent drinking, data from the "Health Behaviour in School Children Report" shows that 22% of 10-17 year olds had consumed alcohol within the previous 4 weeks. The Donegal Youth Council strongly suggests that alcohol is widely used by under 18's. Teachers, juvenile liaison officers and professionals working with young people felt that alcohol was a considerable burden on young peoples lives. Youth addiction counsellors also state that alcohol is the substance of most misuse for under 18's in the North West