Money talks, so it is not in the interest of the Government to rein in the alcohol industry
YOU report that more than 70 per cent of labels on alcohol containers do not show the Government’s updated guidelines on safe levels of consumption (“Most alcohol labels fail to show up-to-date drinking guidance, reveals research”, The Herald, August 26). A check on 424 alcohol products on sale in retailers across Scotland, Wales London, the south-east and northeast of England, found that 56 per cent included no nutritional information, 37% listed only the calories content. Just seven per cent showed the full nutritional information required by law. On top of that 24% of the labelling information showed the old and outdated recommended safe alcohol consumption information: 14 units for women and 21 units for men per week. The current advice was changed three years ago to 14 units per week with two alcohol-free days for both men and women.
The alcohol industry has chosen to almost completely ignore the alcohol consumption advice of the UK Government, because it is not in its interest to do so otherwise. If the public followed that advice billions of
Open the halls
NOW that churches are re-opened or opening soon can I make a plea to the First Minister to actively encourage the re-opening of not only church halls but also community halls and centres, masonic halls and the like?
These facilities are not only used by the members of that group but also the wider community, especially our oldest and youngest members. They have been unable to participate in the vast expanse of community activities for nearly six months, in old folk’s groups, pounds of sales and profits would be wiped off their balance sheets. Profit before health is the reason that alcohol is the UK’S biggest drug problem, affecting more families than any other drug.
Let’s face it, the more alcohol sold, the more revenue pours into the Treasury, so the Government has chosen to turn a blind eye to this problem. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just abolished the main department in England and Wales responsible childminding sessions, coffee mornings (which invariably mean a charity donation) bingo sessions, indoor bowls, playgroup for toddlers – an inexhaustible list of activities.
These sessions are invaluable to all groups and extremely essential for social and mental-health wellbeing.
Patrick Tonner,
Dumbarton.
Guilty pleasures
AMY Kinnaird’s happy recollection of words used in her for health education. So the alcohol industry must be laughing all the way to the bank. So too must the Portman Group that Margaret Thatcher created to advise the alcohol industry on alcohol education, safe consumption guidelines, and to ensure that labelling on alcohol containers were appropriately displayed. The Portman Group’s total funding comes from the drinks industry. It is not and never will be, in the interest of childhood which still stir up feelings of comfort (Letters, August 28), stirred my own memories of feeling “grown-up” in the 1940s with a shared tipple of sugarally water (a liquorice stick “marinated” in water), and puffing away on a smoking cinnamon stick with companions in crime.
Perhaps that made me the man I am today.
R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie.
Ship ahoy
WITH regard to the article by anyone producing drugs like alcohol to educate the public about health risks.
When the Scottish Parliament set out to curb smoking its investigation group did not invite the tobacco industry to sit around the table with it. The result has been a highly successful massive reduction in smoking and better health for millions of us. However when the same Scottish government ran a year-long public consultation on drugs and alcohol, of which I was a part, the committee setting the agenda for our discussions included the chief executives of Diageo, the world’s biggest alcohol producer and the Scotch whisky industry. The halfday presentation on alcohol was led by Diageo and the whisky industry. For nearly two hours they very professionally told us of how successful their business was. In the twenty minutes left for questions they refused to discuss issues I raised about the massive health consequences of alcohol consumption.
Sadly, it is never going to be in the interest of any governments to curb an industry that brings in £10.7 billion in duty and tax.
Max Cruickshank, Glasgow G12.
Martin Williams in your Business section concerning the state takeover of Ferguson Marine farce (“State takeover of shipyard was ‘in the public interest’, MSPS told”, The Herald, August 27), surely I am not the only seafarer to be mildly amused to read that the Government minister at the public inquiry was a Mr Wheelhouse and wonder if the £30 million lifeline thrown to Fergusons to prevent it sinking into oblivion was in fact a bridging loan?
Andy Davidson,
East Kilbride.