Alcohol in the news: Irish Bishops; Scottish parents

• The Irish bishops’ conference has issued a warning about alcohol in a pastoral letter for Lent. In the letter, the bishops urged people to reduce their intake of alcohol and praised the work of anti-drink groups in Ireland on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Temperance movement by the Capuchin friar Fr Theobold Mathew. The bishops’ letter also pointed out that while Ireland’s relationship with drink could be a positive experience when enjoyed in moderation, statistics show that people in Ireland were drinking more and a time when other EU countries are drinking less. totalcatholic.com

• Concern was raised after the case of a 12-year-old girl was found lying in a pool of her own vomit in the Clackmannanshire town of Sauchie, close to death after drinking cider, vodka and wine which bought for her by adults. It followed a case at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where a 16-year-old boy was banned from drinking alcohol and warned he would be jailed if he didn't stop bullying his family.

Conservative MSP Bill Aitken, said there was now a real danger of losing a generation of young people to drink and violence. "There is clearly something wrong with our society when this sort of thing is happening. What on earth are the parents doing? Basically, there does seem to be a complete breakdown in family structures in certain parts of Scotland, and unless parents are willing to take responsibility for children's behaviour, we are in real danger of losing a whole generation," he said. His comments were echoed by Tom Roberts, head of public affairs at the charity Children 1st, who said the Scottish Executive had to look at the underlying reasons for teen alcohol abuse. Care and Health

Contributor: Libby Ranzetta February 20, 2007