Warning issued on ’12 Pubs’ dangers

One of the country’s leading authorities on substance abuse has pleaded with pubs, retailers and drinkers in the city to help eradicate the ‘12 Pubs of Christmas’ drinking ritual that he said would inevitably lead to grief before the end of the night.

Joe Treacy, Spokesman for the Irish Association of Addiction Counsellors, told the Galway City Tribune that the practice of having a drink in 12 different pubs could have catastrophic consequences for those involved.

“To make matters worse, some if not most of those 12 drinks tend to be shots, or strong measures of spirits alcohol, that will make the problems arising even more severe.

“I really cannot make this point strongly enough – do not, under any circumstances, get involved in this type of drinking. The consequences can be disastrous,” said Joe Treacy.

He said that given the prevalence of waterways in Galway city, the dangers of consuming too much alcohol could be catastrophic.

“After the year we’ve had, I am really pleading with people to control the amount of alcohol going into their system. We really don’t want any more tragedies to land on the doorsteps of families this Christmas,” said Joe Treacy.

Mr. Treacy, who is a Clinical Specialist in Addiction at the Dept. of Psychiatry, HSE West, also said that there was a very clear onus and responsibility on retailers and publicans to stop serving drink to customers who already had enough.

Garda Chief Supt. Tom Curley told the Galway City Tribune said that the ’12 Pubs’ ritual was a recipe for disaster and meant that trouble was lying in store for some of those taking part.

For more on the 12 Pubs, see this week’s Galway City Tribune