Ian Gilmore

From The Express,

In fact, so many parts of the body can be damaged by alcohol that it can become a difficult public health issue to communicate. All the evidence is that the best way to reduce consumption is through price and most experts agree this is best done by minimum unit price.

How did alcohol ever get labelled as a "public health issue", when it so clearly isn't? It's a private health issue. Drink too much and you damage your body, not mine. That's not the same thing as things like people not getting vaccinated, where the effects of their actions affect others, which we could genuinely call public.

And yes, lots of people drinking use lots of NHS facilities. While I don't get so lashed up that I need to go to A&E, collectively, drinkers more than cover it. So, Dr Gilmore, kindly go back to treating us, and remember you are our servant, not the other way around.

Big Government Rolls On...

From the Daily Mail

The Office of Fair Trading says the deals leave shoppers confused and unable to work out the true value of what they are buying. Promotional sales in stores that have an 'end date' which is repeatedly extended are among those targeted.

Masking price rises through promotions will also be banned. Similarly, the practice of baiting – luring customers into stores with cheap products that have extremely limited availability – will also be stopped.

Do we really, really need government to do this for us?

OK, I don't appreciate having my time wasted on a deal with a bunch of charges that aren't up front, and if someone pulls that stunt on me, I'll give them a piece of my mind. I'll also walk out of the shop. Limited time deals? Look, either you like a product at the price or you don't. You have to be a numbskull to not know that shops want you to buy right now rather than next year, but anyone knows that a deal at a price today is likely to be repeated, or replaced with something similar soon after.