SpunOut.ie Blog

Submit an article, image, video or audio Join our mailing list

Binging our way to Paddy's day

We're living up to our reputation as heavy drinkers.

Article by : SpunOut.ie

A new poll reports that Ireland is the binge drinking capital of Ireland; with more than a third of us regularly binge drinking. Old news you might say - simply making the headlines once again in an attempt to scare us away from the pub this St. Patrick’s day. Well, whilst here at SpunOut.ie we don’t think that shock tactics and scary news stories will stop people from drinking, we do reckon that everyone should be in the know about how much drink is too much, and the health risks associated with heavy drinking.

You often hear reasons for why the Irish drink so much: ‘it’s part of our culture’ or ‘it’s good craic’ or ‘we’ve nothing else to do here’. Those are all fairly weak excuses when you take a look at what binge drinking is doing to our health.

Binge drinking is when you have five or more standard drinks in one session. A standard drink is half a pint, 1 measure of spirits or a small glass of wine. So binge drinking. Health wise, men shouldn’t drink more than 3 pints on a night out and women should only drink 2 pints. If that sounds like very little, then you might be drinking too much. According to the new poll (Eurobarometer report) binge drinking is on average highest among 15 to 24 year olds. So, that’s likely to be YOU, SpunOut reader! Here are just some of the health risks from drinking too much:

  • Research shows that people who begin binge drinking at 13 and continue as teenagers, are almost 4 times more likely to be overweight by 24 than people who don’t drink heavily.
  • Drinking a lot can lead to feelings of sadness. Many people who are alcohol dependant suffer from depression and heavy drinkers have a much higher risk of suicide or attempted suicide than others.
  • If you drink a lot you can suffer from alcohol poisoning. This is when there’s too much alcohol in your body for you to deal with. You might pass out, lose control or need to be taken to hospital. 
  • Hangovers aren’t just there to make life miserable. They’re your body’s way of trying to get rid of all the crap you drank the night before. So headaches, sick stomachs and depression are just some of the possible hangover symptoms. We’ll not go into what happens when you visit the toilet.
  • Alcohol is full of calories. It makes us fat and gives us those ohhhhh so sexy beer bellies.
  • In the long term (this goes for most of us who regularly drink more than the recommended amounts) alcohol can damage your brain, heart, stomach, reproductive organs and nerves. 
  • Regularly drinking too much can lead to dependency or addiction. Alcoholism is terrible for your health and can also ruin relationships, families, your finances and your enjoyment of life. Don’t let alcohol control you. 
  • Drinking heavily might be common in Ireland but it’s selfish behaviour. You’re probably pissing off your friends and family, people working in the local pub and anyone you drool over when you’re drunk.
  • Find out more about alcohol and how to control your drinking.


We want to hear what YOU think. Is there a simple solution that will help prevent binge drinking? Are Irish people taking the problem seriously? Do you worry about your health when you drink? Voice it in the forum!!


By: Anna Lally, SpunOut.ie Editor