[jambutty]

The incidence of liver disease due to alcohol abuse has drastically increased these few years says a government health bod and who am I to argue with him.

35,000 new cases are admitted to hospitals each year and if the trend continues in the same vein it will be hundreds of thousands within a decade. So it looks like by 2016 or thereabouts our hospitals will be full of patients with chronic lung disease from breathing in air polluted by the internal combustion engine, tobacco smoke, industrial pollution, aircraft and alcoholics with failing livers.

What does the government do about it? Why! Extend the drinking hours. There must be some sort of twisted logic in that move but for the life in me I cannot fathom it out. Unless they are trying to keep the drinkers too puddle to notice just what exactly the government is up to.

To cap it all, at the last budget duty on spirits was not increased although beers, ciders and wines had their annual increase. Oh! I forgot! Gordon Brown is a whiskey drinker so he wouldn’t increase the duty on spirits now would he.

I look forward to a campaign being started by all the anti-smoking brigade to get alcohol banned or severely restricted. After all it is more of a killer and misery maker than tobacco ever was.

I await the flack! But first comes 'the match'.

Bye! for a couple of hours.