Campaign to stop Out of Control Drinking

A new campaign to change the mindset and behaviours of Irish people has recently been launched by Fergus Finlay.  It is the Campaign to Stop Out of Control Drinking.

At the public workshop the main speaker was Clinical Psychologist Maureen Gaffney (author of "Flourishing") who my sister very much wanted to hear speak so she invited me to come along.

There was refreshments available which was great as I had come to the event straight from work.  Lots of varieties of sandwiches - my twin sister got a great giggle as I commented on each sandwich "Oh there is a big chunk of brie in this one"!

After the talk there was a brain storm type part with a facilitator at each table and 3 questions to consider.  This was quite interesting - we wrote on the paper tablecloths - here are some of the comments from our table.

After the workshop, I was left with more questions than answers.  How do you change a behavior that is ingrained and wrapped around ones "Irishness".

However there have been changes in Ireland in the past that we probably thought never could have happened, examples include:

* Smoking Ban.  No smoking is allowed in workplaces - which included pubs!

* Plastic bag levy changed the habits of Irish people.  Plastic bags are levied 22cents by the government so most people bring cloth bags to the supermarket.

* Drink driving - complete change in acceptance of drink driving - no young people tend to drink if driving.

This is a really important issue so I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!