A BOTTLE of vodka and a boot to the head? Day on day, stories of drink-fuelled violence fill courts, hospitals and communities throughout the country.

Murder, serious assault, rape, domestic abuse, suicide, injuries and deaths through drink driving - events so familiar they're almost taken for granted as everyday risks of living in contemporary Ireland.

Why? Links between alcohol and violence are more proven than those between cancer and cigarettes. And more immediate.

Streets see it. So do families, where children cower wondering what will happen when their father or mother gets home. Out of the blue, a usually balanced person can get verbally or physically aggressive for no other reason than that they've been drinking more than is good for them, or you. Add a few more measures and violence erupts.

The State leapt into action to tackle smoking on behalf of all the people. But mention the risks of passive drinking and you sound like a spoilsport from Mars.

Ireland's alcohol consumption was always high but in the last few years, its rate of increase has been fastest in Europe. This happened during an era which has sponsored more research into alcohol abuse than ever before, and built up a body of knowledge which circulates at all levels of society, from TV to universities and from newspapers to fitness centres.

Alcohol has never been easier to access and society never better educated about its effects. Yet, paradoxically, the more health warnings that circulate, the more alcohol and its imagery insinuate themselves into the culture, with obvious, damaging results.

Education is widespread, but it's not being backed up by environmental preventions because, perhaps, of the mantra 'business is business', with a Fianna Fail-led Government characteristically unwilling to tackle alcohol marketing and sales.

Facts do show that the greater the number of off-licences and bars in a community, the more violent assaults take place. It's about density. So it makes sense to start thinking about environmental prevention measures, such as limiting the number of retail outlets as well as the way they trade.

Now, access to alcohol and having the money to buy it have increased to a point where a few cans is like a bottle of red lemonade used to be. A bottle of wine is the new pot of tea.

The frog used to advertise a brand beer or the cute little cat who features in a commercial for 'soft' liquor are domestic icons for many Irish children, as well - or better-known - than heroes and villains from fairytales.

You can find alcohol in any one of a number of places, from supermarkets to off-licences to corner shops where you buy your milk. Alcohol is being sold along with a loaf of bread, a packet of biscuits, a few lamb chops. What's the harm?

Put it this way. The evidence against using alcohol freely is stronger than that against St John's Wort, a herbal remedy for depression and low mood. The Government stopped health food stores selling St John's Wort, but if I want to buy a crate of vodka and I'm over 18, I can.

You can't blame the drink in isolation, as though consumers and retailers were innocent victims with no responsibility for their actions. Alcohol is not criminogenic in the way of, say, crack cocaine. One measure won't turn a delightful Mr Jekyll into a psychotic Mr Hyde.

But its effects can turn a saint into a sinner, make steady people suddenly impulsive and wreak havoc on the functioning of a normal brain. It's a disinhibitor, which gives short-term balm. But it's a bane in excess and over time. Some people become addicted and although research suggests a genetic component, you can't predict who will become addicted or will become violent with complete certainty.

It gets worse. The younger you start, the more damaging and permanent its effects on the brain. When he was a junior minister, Brian Lenihan told a conference of youth workers that half of Ireland's young people start experimenting with alcohol before the age of 12. By 16, he continued, they report at least three binge-drinking sprees in the past month.

You can only imagine the amount their parents drink. So, here's a hypothesis. If more people drink more alcohol than ever before and start drinking younger than ever, as facts confirm, how can anyone be surprised when the known effects of alcohol provoke more violent behaviour than the country has ever witnessed? Here's looking at you, Mr Lenihan.

- Medb Ruane