The claim by Professor David Nutt -- sacked on 30 October as the government's advisor on drugs policy -- that alcohol is more dangerous than cannabis and ecstasy defies credulity.
In the course of my work, I visit scores of breweries in Britain and abroad. They are open, legal enterprises where skilled and trained brewers take the finest raw materials -- barley malt, hops, yeast and water -- to fashion beers packed with flavour that give pleasure to millions. To compare brewing with lock-up garages and underground laboratories where dubious people manufacture hallucinatory drugs is palpable nonsense. It is also deeply insulting to brewers.
Beer has been made since at least 3000 years BC. Nomadic people in Egypt and surrounding countries stopped roaming and built settled communities to grown grain and from grain to make bread and beer. Until comparatively recent times, water was insanitary and beer not only gave pleasure to people but kept them healthy.
The British are moderate drinkers. In the world league of alcohol consumption, Britain ranks Number 16. The overwhelming majoritty of British people handle alcohol sensibly and moderately. We drink it openly and don't inject it into veins in toilets and other secret places.
There is also a large body of work that shows that moderate consumption of alcohol can be beneficial and help ward off heart attacks and some forms of cancer. Beer is rich in Vitam B and folate, good for maintaining healthy skin and bones.
Professor Nutt's remarks fly in the face of the facts and he has done a great disservice to the alcohol industry.