I’D like to concur with everything that Max Cruickshank set out in his letter (August 30) with regards to alcohol abuse. The raising of alcohol prices may well have its place in helping to curb our devotion to this drug but as has been shown, it is not the magic bullet and never was going to be.
Politicians have never told us the whole truth when alcohol deaths are published. As Mr Cruickshank states, the deaths from related issues to do with alcohol would blow the general public’s mind. Alcohol harm can affect not only individual health but also family life and public safety. A recent report from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems estimates it costs the Scottish economy £3.56 billion a year. That is an eye-watering sum.
So why have governments of all persuasions never taken this problem seriously? Even when the recent deaths from alcohol figures came out we didn’t hear the First Minister stand up and admit that they had “taken their eye off the ball” in this case, similar to what they had admitted when the figures came out for drug deaths. Could it be that people feel awkward when discussing the harm this flavoured ethanol actually does? In addiction that is called deflection. I believe it is time that Scotland got honest with itself and asked why we still have a laissez-faire attitude to alcohol and at the same time become judgmental when discussing people who develop problems with the drug.
There are many reasons why people become addicted and none more so than their mental health. Yet in Scotland, we try to bypass this and tell the addict that they need to sort their addiction out and then we can deal with your mental health. Is it any wonder that so many people relapse when left in a state of anxiety after their crutch has been removed and no replacement found? We have some world-leading rehab centres in this country but access to them quickly can only be had on a private basis, leaving the rest of the addicts waiting to be accessed and then told that they can’t justify their entry because their bid for funds has been rejected.
I wonder how the people of Scotland would feel if they were told that you can only have your cancer operation once we find out if there is enough money in the pot and if you are ill enough to justify such expenditure? I suspect a revolution would be in the offing. We must stop treating addiction as some second-class illness and instead treat the sufferers with empathy and understanding.
Fred Parry, Glasgow.
WRONG TO PROMOTE ALCOPOPS
FURTHER to recent comment on alcohol and the damage it does, while watching Sunday's Rangers v Celtic match, I was disappointed to see one of the electronic pitchside advertisements highlighting the high alcohol content of 7.5% abv of a flavoured alcoholic product aimed at the younger drinker.
It's one thing to promote a product or brand but another to promote its harmful high alcohol content as a unique selling point. At 3.75 units of alcohol per can, it's almost one-quarter of the recommended weekly limit, and two cans in one day would be considered binge drinking for most. These drinks cause serious harm to people, families and society. Not only should there be tighter advertising controls, but those accepting the money from advertisers, namely the football clubs, have a duty to check their message around the product is promoting harm.
These alcopops have similarities with the tobacco industry in the 1960s when they knew nicotine was addictive and that smoking caused cancer; they sought to increase the nicotine content of their cigarettes to get more people hooked on their product; clearly, this was immoral conduct resulting in many premature deaths and lawsuits. How long need we wait for the alcohol industry to stop irresponsible advertising and contributing to death, misery and broken society?
Kevin Lynch, Helensburgh.
TOO MANY CHIEFS?
YOU carry a recruitment advertisement for Education Scotland (August 30) which states: "The Head of Leadership Learning will work closely together with the Head of Professional Leadership and Learning to bring a coherent approach to professional learning and leadership learning..."
Forgive me, but this sounds like two people being employed to do one job. Perhaps the SNP version of "pair & share"? At a significant cost to the public purse – £74,779-£77,340 – I would hope, that at those rates, the applicant was indeed a professional.
Maureen McGarry-O'Hanlon, Balloch.
TALK OF THE VILLAGE
MARTIN Williams reports notable absentees from the latest Which? survey, which placed Aberfeldy, Pitlochry and Fort William, as being St Andrews, Portree and Tobermory ("Aberfeldy, the village that cast its spell on JK Rowling, is judged best in Scotland", The Herald, August 31).
The Which? visitor survey is qualified thus: “All the villages and towns …. are inland.”
There is another recent Which? “seaside survey” which placed St Andrews fourth overall and also included Ullapool, North Berwick and Oban.
I think that may explain at least some of the “absentees”. I’d even suggest that Fort William at the head of a sea loch is hardly “inland”.
George Kirrin, Beckenham.
LEADING US A MERRY DANCE
THERE seems little doubt that Michael Gove will have learned some good moves from his boss Boris Johnson, in practised flow as the Great Pretender (Letters, August 31).
Unlike former PM Margaret Thatcher, who was not for turning.
R Russell Smith, Largs.
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