Almost 30% of people in Ireland have been harmed by someone else's drinking, a major new report from the HSE has shown.

According to the report, the negative effects from other people's drinking can range from ‘the nuisance factor' to being attacked by a drunk person. And alcohol's harm to others within a family can have serious consequences for all concerned, particularly children.

The report set out to examine the impact of harm in three Irish settings - the general population, the workplace and among children in families.

When it came to the general population, the researchers found that 28% of the general population have experienced at least one, if not more, negative consequences as a result of someone else's drinking.

Harm was divided into five groups - family problems, passenger with a drink driver, assault, property vandalized and financial problems.

The report noted that women were more likely to report family problems, while men were more likely to report assaults as a result of someone else's drinking.

Those from lower social classes were found to be more vulnerable to family problems. Meanwhile those who took the risk of travelling with a drunk driver tended to consume alcohol at risky levels themselves.

"Given that drinkers tend to socialise together, these findings suggest that drunk driving continues to be a threat to others. Despite the successful implementation of random breath testing and reduction in road deaths in Ireland, the number of detected drink driving offences continues to be substantial.

"The negative consequences of drunk driving not only impacts on the passengers but extends to other innocent road users," the report said.

When it came to the workplace, one in 10 workers reported harm due to a co-worker's heavy drinking. This included having to work extra hours or having an accident or close call at work due to a co-worker's drinking.

"The impact of co-workers drinking can affect a worker's job satisfaction, create tension and the need to cover-up for problems of co-workers who are heavy drinkers, in particularly among young adults," the report said.

It also noted that the risk of workers experiencing harm rose if they themselves were also risky drinkers.

"This may indicate that the workplace facilitates a social network around alcohol use. It may be that workers are drawn to co-workers who have similar harmful drinking patterns. Young adults may also participate in work-based drinking networks as a way of fitting in," it pointed out.

The report said that some workplaces are guilty of creating a ‘culture around drinking' by hosting work-related events where workers socialise and drink alcohol together.

" Social events such as the ‘retirement and Christmas parties' or the ‘innovation-reward parties' with free alcohol as a reward for innovation and hard work can give mixed signals. The research evidence shows that heavy episodic drinking (binge drinking) increases the risk of arriving late at work, leaving early and low productivity while at work," the report stated.

When it came to children, the report found that one in 10 Irish parents reported that children experience harm in the last 12 months as a result of someone else's drinking. This included being left in unsafe situations, verbal abuse, physical abuse and witnessing serious violence in the home.

"Parents who themselves were regular risky drinkers were more likely to report that children experienced at least one or more of the harms due to others drinking. Therefore, the exposure of children to risk and harm from adults drinking may come from two sources - the ‘other drinker' and the heavy drinking parent.

"If both are in the same household then the harm experienced by the child could
be substantial," the report said.

It estimated that around 271,000 children under the age of 15 are currently living with regular risky drinkers.

The report concluded that alcohol-related harm ‘affects many other people besides the drinker'.

"In fact, the harm experienced by the drinker due to their own drinking is only part of the story of alcohol-related problems in Ireland. The findings of this report indicate that alcohol's harm to others as a result of someone else's drinking is far reaching and can be serious," it added.

The report, Alcohol's Harm to Others in Ireland, was prepared for the HSE by Dr Ann Hope of Trinity College Dublin.