In recent months I have held a series of public forums on issues of great relevance to communities. The first was how on how we should respond to the suicide crisis, the second was on activating and social networking and the third was on threats to women's health today, in particular alcohol and smoking.

I wish to say, without preaching, that this is a time when people are inclined to over-indulge in alcohol and smoking. It is no harm reminding ourselves to be less indulgent. A we are leaders in society, we should advise the people around us, and not to be puritanical about it, to be less indulgent. Senator John Crown is a professor oncologist at St. Vincent's University Hospital. He has said that the complete eradication of smoking and a sharp reduction in levels of alcohol consumption are critical in Ireland. He also said that smoking is by far the leading preventable cause of illness in Ireland, that there is nothing redeeming about it and that there is no safe level. It also contributes to cancer of the mouth, throat, head, neck, lung, pancreas and stomach. In addition, it damages the arteries, causes circulatory problems, heart attacks and strokes. He has also argued that the physical and social health of Irish people would be greatly improved if they only drank less. Plus, reducing drinking would lead to a decrease in the levels of liver disease and many forms of cancer, as well as, very importantly, a decrease in domestic violence, rape and teen pregnancy. The esteemed chief executive of Alcohol Action Ireland, and former chief executive of Samaritans, Ms Suzanne Costello, raised the following matter which I have raised here before. She discussed the huge increase in the number of young women drinking in Ireland. It is no longer a taboo in Ireland for women to go into pubs and drinking.

What about below cost selling?

Ms Costello has said younger women tend to drink spirits rather than beer which leads to them drinking more units of alcohol on average than men of the same age. At this time of year we all have to be proactive. We have been very successful in the campaign to decrease the number of people driving with alcohol. We, as leaders in society, have to drive the lesson home and get rid of smoking and ask people to be very careful. Senator John Crown also made the point that it has been said a little red wine is good for a person. The point is people never stick to just drinking a little bit of wine. I do not mean to preach but it is important that I pass on this very important information today. It would be ideal to publicly debate these three issues and I ask the Leader to arrange same in the months to come.

The problem is the flogging of drink in big supermarkets which is destroying the whole industry.