Liver cancer: 'How many times have we heard this tale?'

THERE is a depressing familiarity to our report on the latest rise in liver disease and liver cancer deaths in the Lothians.

How many times have we heard this tale before? There is a sharp rise in cases of one alcohol-related condition or another, and doctors line up to take us to task over our national love-in with the booze.

The timing of this latest bulletin though – just days after MSPs effectively voted down plans to impose a minimum price on alcohol – does offer some fresh fuel to the debate.

This newspaper has long resisted the idea of minimum pricing, while recognising its attraction to those looking for a quick fix to the problems caused by binge drinking.

No-one doubts that action of some kind is needed to deal with the growing levels of drink-fuelled antisocial behaviour in our society, as well as the long-predicted rises in associated health problems.

Our great difficulty with the idea of minimum pricing has always been that it punishes the majority who drink responsibly. Also, the evidence of the potential to change our habits remains unclear.

But, with each rise in alcohol- related deaths – the national total stands at 1,500 a year and rising – it is becoming harder to argue the case that drinking should remain a matter of purely personal responsibility.

The SNP government and its supporters on this issue, including many of the UK's most eminent medical figures, have a long way to go before they will win the argument over minimum pricing.

But as the Alcohol Bill as a whole proceeds through Holyrood it is up to all parties to explore every possible way to convince Scotland to take a more sober approach to life.

And, for once, there may be a role in this for the nanny state.

The anguish goes on

IT IS impossible to imagine the anguish which Julia Howard's family have been through in the year since the 77-year-old's death during a holiday in Mexico.

Not knowing who or what caused the tragedy can only add to their on-going pain, and the attitude of the local authorities has made things worse rather than better.

It can only be hoped that the efforts of the Home Office – perhaps aided by continuing publicity of their plight – can help bring some pressure to bear and finally get the answers which the family so desperately needs.