There’s an opinion piece in today’s Herald by Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, head of the Violence Reduction Unit at Strathclyde Police. It’s one of the few such pieces I’ve seen that suggests there’s more to Scotland’s love of booze than its price.

If we want a cafe culture in Scotland let’s build more cafes. If we want to carry on the way we are, and see our society suffer even more, let’s keep on building bars where loud music inhibits conversation and the design – few seats, plenty of standing room – encourages drinking; let’s keep on having loss-leading drinks promotions in off-licences, allowing customers to have a few cheap drinks before they even reach these bars.