'Alcohol worse than ecstasy'

Alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than ecstasy, cannabis and LSD, the Government's chief drug adviser has claimed as he accused ministers of ignoring evidence to distort the drugs debate - The Telegraph​

The Government's chief drugs adviser was expected to be facing calls to resign today after criticising ministers for not reclassifying ecstasy, LSD and cannabis as less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. Professor David Nutt, who heads the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, accused former home secretary Jacqui Smith of "devaluing" and "distorting" scientific research after she changed cannabis back to Class B - Evening Standard​

The Globe Pub Company is on the brink of being placed into administrative receivership, according to a company source. Zolfo Cooper has been lined up as receiver to the Robert Tchenguiz-owned group. An announcement could be made as early as today, the source added. The move could lead to Globe being sold to a new vehicle backed by Heineken, the Dutch brewer, which is understood to be prepared to pay £180 million for its assets - The Times​

Heineken, the Dutch brewer, reported an increase in volumes in its British business yesterday in the latest sign that the embattled beer market is starting to stabilise. The group, Britain's biggest brewer after last year's takeover of Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), said that in the third quarter its business in the UK had "grown volumes in both cider and beer on a relative basis" - The Times​

Fentimans, a traditional Victorian lemonade enjoyed by British drinkers for more than a century, has caused a row after an American teenager had a bottle confiscated in school for its tiny alcohol content. The offending bottle of lemonade was taken from the school pupil after he confessed to his school principal that the bottle contained 0.5 per cent alcohol - The Telegraph​

The minority SNP government's plans to adopt a minimum price for alcohol appear doomed after Labour's appointment of a new shadow health secretary who is strongly against the move. Jackie Baillie, whose constituency includes a big whisky firm employing 600 people, was appointed to the shadow health portfolio this week by Iain Gray, the Labour leader at Holyrood - The Times​