Branded meds

Longannet Wick councillors

the politically favoured at the expense of the economy as a whole.

According to the consensus, failed banks must be rewarded and the currency must be inflated while hiding behind the metaphorical fig leaf of “quantitave easing” by a central bank, an institution that is, by definition, Marxist.

Today’s political leaders have already conceded that Corbyn is morally correct and are struggling to oppose him for that reason, despite the obvious fact that his proposed policies are a recipe for economic and currency collapse. BRUCE CRICHTON Victoria Road

Falkirk IN RESPONSE to your article, “Famous-name medicine 725 per cent more expensive” (21 August), our research shows that people like and trust brands and want to have a range of different products to choose from.

Over-the-counter medicine manufacturers have high manufacturing standards and invest heavily in bringing new and innovative products to the market, which either work better or were previously only available on prescription. Once new medicines have been developed, other companies are free to make their own versions, and as they don’t bear the original development costs they can sell it at a lower price. Even if products do have the same active ingredient, they may be formulated in different ways to provide different benefits.

For example, migraine sufferers might want to choose a medicine which is faster acting, as speed of treatment is very relevant for this condition.

Back pain tends to be longer lasting and therefore best suited to a product which is specifically designed to slowly release the active ingredient.

Ensuring there is a wide range of medicines on the market, with different benefits and at different prices, gives people choice and enables them to decide what product is right for them and for their particular symptoms. We would advise anyone who is concerned about the medicines they are taking to speak to their pharmacist who will be able to give them expert advice and support.

JOHN SMITH PAGB (Proprietary Association of Great Britain)

London THANK goodness we have at least one MSP (Murdo Fraser, Letters, 21 August) capable of taking a rational and honest view on the Longannet situation.

I could make a good stab at explaining the real reasons for the (threatened, please note) early closure of Longannet and cancellation of the proposed new gas station but that would be too space-consuming for the moment.

Transmission charges barely amount to 1 per cent of operating cost.

This is one factor which SP (Iberdrola) can cunningly feed to less astute politicians to promulgate as part of their “discrimination against Scotland” rubbish. Mr Fraser is, I think, being rather too kind in his criticism of Messrs Grant and Orr (Letters, 20 August).

The latter’s contribution I find particularly illustrative.

Everyone else will, I think, understand that for retail operations like supermarket goods and postal services, etc, distribution costs are inversely proportional to population density but that we all pay roughly the same for these no matter where we live. Electricity is no different.

Taking Mr Orr’s figures and using his “Scottish” £40 million as base, we note that the Yorkshire equivalent (5.3 times Scotland’s population density) should be paying just £7.5 million instead of the £15 million he quotes and London, of course, has a population density about 65 times that of Scotland.

That is, London transmission costs are negligible so the consumers are being charged more for the actual product.

Is Mr Orr really complaining that our neighbours subsidise our energy needs? (DR) A MCCORMICK Kirkland Road

Terregles HAVING just read of the Wick councillors’ decision to cut all ties with Klaksvik (your report, 21 August), I wonder if this is yet another example of the SNP’S belief that they have the right to dictate not only to the vast majority of Scots who did not vote for them, but to similarly treat anyone else who dares be different. EP CARRUTHERS Lockerbie Perthshire

Well done, Wick. Why would you want to be linked with a place that apparently views your opinions as worthless anyway? The whales don’t die quickly.

- Nevermore

I can see no justification for this whale slaughter. It’s done simply because of tradition. Why should 250 healthy whales die each year in a disgusting spectacle of killing, just to continue an archaic, outdated and unnecessary custom?

- Rhaegal

It is a pity that Councillor Ross didn’t use the relationship of twin towns to open a line of dialogue about the whaling rather than a knee-jerk reaction to one event given that Wick and Klaksvik have been twinned for 20 years.

- Glingow

The people of the Faroes are more important than the whales. They are strong and resourceful, making the most they

Gesture politics at its best. The councillor – regardless of the merits of this “action” – do love this kind of self-important stance.

- Stignatius

“Part of the Faroese culture”. Witch-burning used to be part of our culture but we grew out of it.

- Combobulated Bob

The cost of replacing and scrapping the “twinned-with” signs will be another burden on the taxpayer. Meanwhile, in the Faroe Islands, nobody cares about the folk from Wick as their bellies are full.

- Romach

Is it not hypocritical for the people of Wick, and by extension, Scotland, to criticise the Faroese, who have been hunting pilot whales since the 1500s and who see it as an important part of their culture?

- Willy Spinny