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	HSE AskAboutAlcohol.ie website aims to raise understanding about harmful drinking</p>
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	A controversial alcohol Bill which will introduce minimum unit pricing and curtains over drinks displays in shops could return to the Seanad for debate before the end of the current Oireachtas term, a Government Minister has said.</p>
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	The Public Health Alcohol Bill has been working its way through the various stages of the houses since December 2015, but progress stalled in October following heated exchanges in a Seanad debate on the proposed legislation.</p>
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	The issue of retailers having to erect curtains to block alcoholic beverages from general sight has proven to be a particularly contentious aspect, with some Fine Gael backbenchers attacking party colleague and Minister of State for Health Promotion Marcella Corcoran Kennedy over the move.</p>
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	However, speaking ahead of the launch of the HSE&rsquo;s new AskAboutAlcohol.ie website on Tuesday, the Minister indicated she is determined to retain that aspect of the Bill as she considers proposed changes ahead of its reintroduction to the Seanad.</p>
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	&ldquo;There is a generation of children growing up now thinking that alcohol is the same product as any other product. It&rsquo;s actually not. It&rsquo;s a toxin, it&rsquo;s a carcinogen, it&rsquo;s a psychoactive drug, it causes cancer like tobacco does,&rdquo; she said.</p>
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	AskAboutAlcohol.ie is the first dedicated website dealing with the topic to be created by a State body, and offers advice on safe drinking limits and dealing with a family member who drinks excessively, as well as the mental and physical impacts of problem drinking.</p>
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	&nbsp;</p>
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	Excessive drinking</p>
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	Ms Corcoran Kennedy said the interactive site would act as an authoritative source of information, and pointed to increased alcohol consumption in Ireland last year and the fact that the majority of drinkers consumed excessive amounts of alcohol as examples of why the resource was needed.</p>
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	&ldquo;This is a health policy we&rsquo;re talking about here. It&rsquo;s critical that the Government and State agencies are the ones that are taking the lead and providing information here. This is a long time coming and it&rsquo;s great that we&rsquo;re here today,&rdquo; she said.</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Times on the 8th March 2017)</p>
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	<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/alcohol-bill-may-return-to-seanad-before-summer-1.3001587">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/alcohol-bill-may-return-to-seanad-before-summer-1.3001587</a></p>
