Booze problem? Talk to the booze-makers

I used to work with a chap who believed no-one should be allowed to touch alcohol without first passing a test and being issued with a drinking permit, writes PETER RHODES.

How many members of the British Medical Association would thoroughly approve of that idea?

The BMA, which sees the tragic, terminal results of our boozy culture, is one of several groups which have refused to sign up to the Government's "responsibility deal" on the sale of alcohol.

They condemn the proposals as "all carrot and no stick" for the drinks industry. They are probably right.

When any government faces a problem, its first instinct is to consult. So when a gunman runs amok in Hungerford, politicians engage in earnest discussions with the gun industry.

When half the nation's youth is boozed-up after midnight , MPs seek the views of the booze-makers.

You see the problem?