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The Independent tells us that alcohol is killing 22,000 Britons a year. That is three times the figure given by government estimates, but it includes figures the government ignores - where alcohol is the indirect cause of death. When drunk people have accidents or harm or kill themselves, these are still alcohol related deaths.

In Abersytwyth a year or two back a man fell from a windoow after a night of heavy drinking. This tragedy was certainly avoidable, but it is unfortunate that his father - instead of campaigning against alcohol abuse - decided to start a campaign to have sash windows removed from Victorian properties in the town.

Unable to cope with the fact that alcohol is causing our nation great social harm, we look at incidentals. No doubt we can also expect campaigns against unfenced cliff edges, hard road services, cars that can driven by drunk drivers and just about every other means by which someone who has deliberately drink away all thair common sense might kill themself.

But control drinking? That is not on.

The UK has a terrible problem with binge drinking and drunkenness. Tony Blair’s solution was to let the pubs open even later into the early hours of the morning. Now we can drink 24 hours a day, and are we better for it? Of course not. Binge drinking is just getting worse and worse.

And 22,000 lives are lost every year because we are not willing to stop the recreational drug use of the most dangerous drug in the world.