Latest news with #Newsmakers
Scotsman
09-07-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Alcohol kills as many people in Scotland as drugs
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It's Alcohol Awareness Week, and as a GP of over 25 years, I've been reflecting on the devastating impact alcohol misuse can have on a person, their family, and society. Whether it's losing a patient to cirrhosis, seeing babies born with foetal alcohol syndrome, or family and friends struggling to support their loved ones —alcohol dependence and misuse damages too many lives in Scotland. Scotland has a deeply problematic relationship with alcohol. We consistently rank among the highest in Europe for alcohol consumption, and data published last month showed that more than half of Scots continue to drink above the safe limit of 14 units per week. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While the occasional few drinks can be enjoyable and carry minimal health risks, we need to be honest and accept that too many of us are drinking beyond what can be considered safe. Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland have reached a 15-year high, following a rise of nearly 25 per cent since 2019 (Picture: Joe Raedle/Newsmakers) | Getty Images Covid's effect on drinking habits Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland have reached a 15-year high, with 1,277 people dying prematurely in 2023 – nearly 25 per cent higher than in 2019, the last full year before the Covid hit. There is no doubt that the pandemic led to an increase in unhealthy drinking patterns, the effects of which are still being realised. Some have argued that these statistics show minimum unit pricing (MUP) has failed as an intervention. I firmly believe the opposite is true: without MUP, the number of Scots dying from alcohol misuse would be significantly higher. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When MUP was introduced, the aim was to reduce alcohol consumption among those drinking at harmful levels, and to lower overall population consumption. On both counts, MUP has had a discernible positive impact. READ MORE: Cocaine hospital stays reach highest ever level amid 14 per cent soar in drug admissions Research published in The Lancet demonstrates that MUP was associated with a 13.4 per cent reduction in deaths wholly attributable to alcohol. The greatest improvements were seen in the most socioeconomically deprived deciles and among men – groups disproportionately affected by alcohol misuse. At a population level, alcohol sales fell by 3 per cent. Put simply, an average of 156 alcohol-related deaths have been prevented each year since MUP came into force. Hospitalisations decreased by 4.1 per cent – a figure not to be lightly dismissed given the pressures facing my colleagues in hospitals. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Deaths of despair Wales and the Republic of Ireland have since followed Scotland's lead and introduced their own MUP regimes, and it is disappointing that Wes Streeting has opted not to follow suit in England. No one ever claimed MUP would be a panacea, but we must now build on its success and address alcohol-related harms in a broader context. Tackling alcohol-related harms should be given parity with Scotland's drug death crisis. Given that alcohol kills around the same number of Scots as drugs, there should be additional resources, political attention, and public messaging to reduce alcohol-related harm. This must include a serious examination of alcohol advertising. Ultimately, deaths caused by alcohol in Scotland are intrinsically linked to poverty, deprivation, and despair. Alcohol-related deaths in the most deprived areas are 4.5 times higher than in the least deprived. If we are to make serious progress in reducing Scotland's shameful alcohol death figures, then tackling poverty and giving people hope is non-negotiable.
The South African
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- The South African
No DNA, just RSA: Jordan Pepper wins Spa 24 Hour
Jordan Pepper racked up another incredible endurance-race victory for South Africa this past weekend. Sharing the #63 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3 at the fearsome Spa 24 Hour, the trio were fast and clinical to clinch one of the toughest 24-hour races on the calendar. Unusually for the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit near the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, the entirety of the 24-hour race was dry. The race is typically interrupted by heavy rain, fog and sometimes both. In fact, extraordinarily hot conditions over the weekend had their own unique challenges for Jordan Pepper and his teammates … The Spa 24 Hour is more than an endurance race, it's a spectacle from beginning to end. Image: Newsmakers Better still, victory for Jordan Pepper in Spa is the second big win for South African GT racers in two weeks. Kelvin van der Linde took home the Nurburgring 24 Hour win in a BMW just one-week prior. Moreover, the Spa 24 Hour saw all four top South African race drivers compete: including Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde in BMWs and David Perel in a Ferrari. However, it was the #63 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Jordan Pepper, Mirko Bortolotti and Luca Engstler that crossed the line first. There were crashes a plenty in the 2025 edition of the Spa 24 Hour. Video: GT World on YouTube Unlike the 24 Hours of Le Mans that features top-class prototypes, the Spa 24 is for GT3 cars only. And while there are multiple classes of drivers – rated from Bronze to Platinum (like Jordan Pepper) – all compete in the same spec machinery, which keeps the racing very close. Likewise, the Nurburgring 24 Hour is unique in that it has no safety cars to bunch up the field. Meanwhile the Spa 24 does, which adds a totally different dimension to surviving and winning the race. As the #63 GRT Grasser team found out, to win you have to be brutally fast, stay out of trouble, make zero mistakes and have reliability on your side. No mistakes or mechanical maladies troubled the #63 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan, which made it a straight fight for the overall win. Image: Newsmakers Bortolotti drove the final two-and-a-half-hour stint in stifling heat to cross the line. But Jordan Pepper arguably drove the most important stints that edged the Lamborghini ahead of its closest rival, the #96 Rutronik Porsche 911, on an offset pit strategy. The brutal 24-hour race ebbed and flowed and finally boiled down to a tense final pitstop for the top teams. Having made zero mistakes to that point, with just 45 minutes to go, the team used clever pit strategy to come out ahead on track by a few seconds. From left to right: Luca Engstler (GER), Mirko Bortolotti (ITA) and Jordan Pepper (RSA). Image: Newsmakers The Spa 24 Hour victory is the second major endurance win for South African Jordan Pepper. He took an emotional win at the iconic Bathurst 24 Hour for Bentley back in 2020. Is there are any stopping South Africa's current crop of super-fast racing drivers? Of course not, it's not DNA, it's RSA! Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsmakers 6/13/2025: Cindy Coyne; political roundtable
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — This week on Newsmakers: Cindy Coyne, a newly announced Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, discusses why she's running; then, Tim White and Ted Nesi are joined by political strategist Cara Cromwell to break down some of the latest headlines. Prefer your Newsmakers on the go?Subscribe to our podcast!Apple | Spotify Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Newsmakers 5/30/2025: AG Neronha
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — This week on Newsmakers: Attorney General Peter Neronha talks about his sweeping new health care proposals, his political future, litigating against the Trump administration, the Aaron Thomas case and more. Prefer your Newsmakers on the go?Subscribe to our podcast!Apple | Spotify Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsmakers 5/23/2025: Reporters' roundtable
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — This week on Newsmakers: Tim White and Ted Nesi are joined by Target 12's Eli Sherman and Alexandra Leslie to break down the week in the news, including flag and budget controversies at Providence City Hall, the U.S. House reconciliation bill, next year's World Cup and more. Prefer your Newsmakers on the go?Subscribe to our podcast!Apple | Spotify Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
