A new study in Scotland has shown significant community health benefits can be achieved by making alcohol more expensive.
Bad news for alcoholics, the report in the British Medical Journal followed the introduction of "minimum pricing" in the country, basing the cost of drinks on their alcohol content.
Since May 2018 the price of booze in Scotland has had to be at least 50p per unit, with the study correlating the levels of drinking before and after the measure debuted.
The researchers found the amount purchased per person per week fell by 1.2 units - or the equivalent of one measure of spirits or about 500ml of beer.
The figures were based on the purchasing habits of 60,000 households between 2015 and 2018, and showed the impact of the minimum alcohol price was about twice as big as originally forecast.
American health insurer UnitedHealthcare has clearly had some sort of systems glitch after sending a customer more than 500 letters in a week.
According to WCSH-TV in Maine, the letters were addressed to a 19-year-old man in the town of Wyndham, relating to claims which date back to 2016.
The recipient's mother said at first she thought it was a joke - and was particularly amused by a line at the end of each letter saying "Go Paperless!".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 01 Oct 19
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 01 Oct 19
