The tooth hurts?

Before anyone knee-jerk blames Holyrood’s First Minister for the British Medical Journal’s report that one in 25 Scots carries the HPV virus which can lead to throat cancer when it’s only one in 50 in England, Nicola Sturgeon’s not to blame for the nation’s fishy breath.

The new HPV vaccination programme and the BMJ’S other proposals are a complete waste of time and money when the solution lies squarely with a nation of folk allergic to basic dental hygiene. Scotland is infamous as a land of toothpaste dodgers where some mouths would resemble a snooker set if only there were a white tooth left.

I have lost count of the number of workplaces, train journeys and other contact with the human species north of Hadrian’s Wall where I’ve suffered the indignity of being forced to breathe the fetid fumes of wallpaper-stripping death breath from selfish, lazy people refusing to accept it is as much a discourtesy not to keep one’s mouth clean as not bothering to wash before leaving the house. Mints, breath sprays and bleaching kits are not adequate substitutes. Attitudes need to change.

Maybe now the Great Unbrushed know it may cost them their lives there will be a rush to brush – but I won’t hold my breath waiting for it!

MARK BOYLE Linn Park Gardens Johnstone, Renfrewshire