SIR – It is ironic that on one page of the T&A (April 2) there is concern about the ‘explosion’ of alcohol related liver disease – yet on another, a shopkeeper demanding almost 24-hour alcohol sales to be allowed, alongside an application for yet another off-licence shop.

When are the authorities, both local and national, going to realise what a threat to both public health and disorder on the streets alcohol abuse represents?

The medical profession know full well what the dangers of alcohol are – now on a par with, if not greater than, those of tobacco – with them having to treat its victims, costing the NHS a fortune which could be better spent on genuine illness, not the self-inflicted kind!

But the Government is lobbied extensively by the booze industry – also aware of how much revenue it brings in from duty and VAT – who seem blind to the consequences.

Surely with all the evidence available it is time for a serious review of licensing hours etc, because there are too many outlets open too long.

D S Boyes, Rodley Lane, Leeds