Letters to the Editor: Simon Harris backed us on alcohol warnings but he has U-turned
John Higgins spoke to the 'Irish Examiner' in 2022 about losing his 19-year-old son David to an alcohol-related suicide. Now he writes about his dismay at the reversal of support the family received at that time. Picture: Karen Cox
At our 19-year-old son’s inquest in 2011, the coroner determined that his death was “suicide with alcohol a contributing factor”. The coroner allowed me to address the court, and as a result, our views on alcohol received a lot of media attention.
Our views were that it was too cheap, too available, and the country was saturated with advertisements. We gave our support to the passing of the Public Health Alcohol Act.
