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Macduff: What three things does drink especially promote?
Porter: Marry sir, nose painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance...
- MacBeth, Act 2, Scene 3

Binge drinking is a major problem in Ireland, more so in Northern Ireland. The Irish Department of Health has funded a campaign targeting binge drinking. It has emerged that binge drinking is a defining aspect of Irish drinking patterns. This may not come as news, but the fact that health service officials are starting to take preventive measures is what makes the difference. According to Rob Phipps of the Department of Health, drinking is “unhealthy on a personal and social level, an issue that needs to be addressed urgently”. Campaign results have shown that even moderate alcohol intake can prove disastrous in certain cases, and one doesn’t need to go on a drinking binge to damage his/her health. The Irish Health Promotion Agency has established the notion of drinking units. Generally one unit can be described as one beer / a glass of wine / 50 ml of hard liquor. Consuming one of each in one sitting counts as three units total. The HPA aims to raise awareness of alcohol intake and reduce consumption. The agency has fixed 10 units for men and 7 units for women as the equivalent of a binge. HPA representatives remind that men should drink no more than 21 units and women – less than 14 units over the course of one week (seven days). The campaign involves distribution of certain materials to clubs and pubs in Northern Ireland.
Alcohol affects mostly the nerve cells in the brain, interfering with the communication between nerve cells. The inhibitory neurotransmitter, known as GABA, is suppressed in the course of alcohol consumption. This results in sluggish behavior in the final drinking phase. Prior to that drinkers become more self-confident, more talkative, and less socially inhibited. Alcohol numbs the senses – people have trouble hearing, touching, tasting, seeing and smelling. It also causes an elevation of the pain threshold. If one falls and sprains their ankle while drunk, for example, he/she isn’t likely to feel the pain…at least not until they sober up. Finally, alcohol inhibits thought processes – people cannot think clearly and exercise poor judgment.