Madam, - The tragic and high-profile death of George Best comes at a time when the negative effects of alcohol are prevalent in our society. It is a drug that breaks down people and those connected with them at an alarming rate.
Glamour ought never to mask the raw, heart-rending, dire circumstances this drug can generate. Many people appear to be in denial about the problem and are only too willing to defend drinking through faulty justification.
At this time every year, we hear the same old rhetoric trotted out about how we should be more "responsible" and "sensible". It is tiring, wasteful and largely ineffective.
Where is the public commitment to effective education and practical intervention? Where is the affirmation and support for those choosing not to take alcohol? As the promoters, producers and providers of alcohol point the finger of "responsibility" towards the public, perhaps it would serve us all well if they were to notice that there are three fingers pointing back in their direction.
May George Best rest in peace. - Yours, etc,
GERRY HICKEY, Counsellor/psychotherapist, Dublin 2.