Ireland’s alcohol consumption declined last year for the first time in 16 years after the government raised taxes on liquor and economic growth slowed, a study commissioned by the country’s health ministry showed. <br />
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Consumption fell 6 percent to 13.5 liters of pure alcohol in 2003, after the government introduced higher excise duties on spirits in December 2002 in a bid to clamp down on binge drinking, according to the Dublin-based ministry’s Web site.<br />
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