Dataset 2 for "Alcohol consumption and attitudes to evidence-based alcohol policy in Donegal: findings from a student and general adult sample" (adult data)

Dataset 2 for "Alcohol consumption and attitudes to evidence-based alcohol policy in Donegal: findings from a student and general adult sample" (adult sample). Note there is a connected second dataset that relates to the related publication.

Executive summary for published report:
In Ireland, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 was passed as a legislative framework to minimise alcohol consumption and related harm. The Act would require a shift in alcohol policy in Ireland, including changes around pricing, promotions, advertising, licencing, availability, and protecting young people. The aim of this research was to understand support for elements of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill in Donegal County.

We asked two groups of Donegal residents their views, the first, 395 students based at Letterkenny Institute of Technology now Atlantic Technological University (student sample in 2018/19), and the second, 536 adults living in Donegal reached through email or Facebook advertisements (general adult sample in 2019/20).
Levels of Alcohol use
• 58% students and 53% adults drink hazardously (alcohol use which puts drinkers at risk of harm, or where they are experiencing harm from alcohol).
• 46% students and 36% adults drink six or more drinks on a single occasion monthly or more frequently in the past year.
• 23-25% consider someone in their house to be a heavy drinker.
• 19% said someone else’s drinking in their house negatively affected them in the past year.

Public health countermeasures: who should intervene?
• 27% students and 25% adults agreed individuals are responsible enough to protect themselves from harm;
• 58% students and 53% adults agreed public health bodies should intervene to protect from alcohol related harm;
• 65-70% agreed that health professionals should ask about alcohol use;
• 39-43% agreed adult alcohol treatment services were available in their area (26-32% agreed there were youth services).

Views on alcohol availability for adults and young people
• 19% students and 33% adults agreed we should reduce the number of alcohol outlets
• 21% students and 37% adults agreed we should separate alcohol sales from food or other goods
• 80% students and 86% adults agreed we should not sell alcohol to those under the age of 18 years
• 64% students and 69% adults agreed it was not acceptable to allow a child aged 15 to drink in their own home
• 34% students and 38% adults agreed it was not acceptable to allow a 16-17 year old to drink in their own home

Views on alcohol marketing to adults
• 81-82% agreed alcohol advertisements should include alcohol use risks.
• Students’ agreement where there should not be alcohol adverts:
• Sponsoring sporting teams (40%); Sports grounds (40%); Public transport (38%); Music events (17%).
• Adults’ agreement where there should not be alcohol adverts: Sponsoring sporting teams (58%); Sports grounds (61%); Public transport (33%); Music events (53%).

Views on alcohol marketing to young people
• 61% students and 77% adults agreed television adverts for alcohol should only be shown after 9pm
• 59% students and 86% adults agreed alcohol advertising targeting young people should be banned
• 80% students and 82% adults agreed alcohol adverts should not be in or near a school or early years’ service
• 85% students and 90% adults agreed alcohol providers should not sponsor children’s sporting teams

Price promotions and minimum unit pricing
• 36% students and 32% adults agreed hought minimum unit pricing was a good thing
• 61% students and 58% adults agreed price promotions on alcohol encourage excessive drinking
• 19% students and 33% adults agreed that price promotions in pubs,bars, and clubs should be banned
• 67% students and 37% adults agreed they were more likely to drink alcohol when it was sold at a discounted price

Support for evidence-based alcohol policy in relation to perceived local characteristics
Six evidence-based policy options were reviewed for support in relation to those who had reported second-hand impacts of alcohol consumption. These were restrictions on alcohol advertising to youth, a ban on selling to under 18-year-olds, a ban on price promotions, a reduction in the number of alcohol outlets, support for separate premises sales, and support for minimum unit pricing.
For the student sample, there was stronger support for evidence-based policy options when they had experienced second-hand impact of alcohol consumption. Students who had experienced teenage drinking in parks as a problem in their area were significantly more likely to agree with all six options, and those who or public drunkenness in their area were significantly likely to agree with five of these evidence-based measures. For those who had experienced alcohol related violence, four of these were significant, and for adults drinking in a public place or drink driving as problems in their area, there was significantly higher agreement for three of these evidence-based policy measures.

For the adult sample, those who had experienced public drunkenness in their area were significantly more likely to agree with all six evidence-based policy options, for those who had experienced alcohol related violence, they were more likely to agree with five evidence-based policy options. For those who had experienced underage drinking as a problem in their area, they were more likely to endorse four of these, including the two policy measures related to young people. Those who had experienced teenagers drinking, adults drinking, or drink driving as a problem in their area were more likely to agree with only two of the evidence-based policy options.

Conclusions
There is strong evidence that the views on alcohol policy in Donegal differ from those elsewhere in Ireland, with broadly lower support for evidence-based alcohol policy measures than in other counties where similar surveys have been conducted.

There were also some differences in views on alcohol policy between students and the general adult sample, and between those who drink hazardously (at risk of harm or currently experiencing harm) and those who do not drink hazardously.

Given the level of alcohol use and alcohol harm in Ireland, and particularly given changes since COVID-19, a one size fits all policy approach is unlikely to be suitable to meet the needs of those across the Island of Ireland.

It is recommended that key policy, health, and community stakeholders in the North-West region are involved in a discussion of the findings and decide the next steps to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol related harm.

Funder: ICAAN/Alcohol Forum 

For further information about this dataset, please consult the readme file.