'Homebuyers face questions on alcohol and smoking under new mortgage rules'

Homebuyers could be forced to provide detailed information about the amount of money they spend on alcohol each month to qualify for a new mortgage under a new clampdown on reckless lending. In a sweeping review of the mortgage market published today, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said lenders needed to be far more rigorous about their financial checks of potential borrowers - The Times​

A top cop has slammed telly soaps - for encouraging teenagers to binge drink. EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale have too many scenes in pubs, says Pat Shearer, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. He said: "It's little wonder we are the way we are. You sit down in front of the television and every evening you're effectively in a pub - Scottish Sun ​

Boozers can exceed the drink-drive limit for the price of a stamp, health experts warned yesterday. The alert came with calls for a minimum price for alcohol - as it emerged 100,000 Britons will drink themselves to death in the next ten years. A unit of alcohol can cost as little as 9p - with three litres of cider at just £1.18 in some stores - The Sun ​

The number of alcohol-related deaths has tripled in the past 25 years, according to latest figures. And research carried out for Alcohol Concern suggested that 90,800 people - the equivalent to a packed Wembley Stadium - could die over the next 10 years - Mirror ​

Problem drinking by youngsters may grab the headlines but middle-aged people in Wales are also putting themselves at risk by binge drinking at home. That is the view of Alcohol Concern Wales which has commissioned a survey showing that almost a quarter of adults in Wales drink at home as often as four nights a week - Western Mail ​

Pub bosses face an investigation into claims that drinkers are being over-charged by up to 80p a pint. Campaigners and MPs say they force "tied-in" pub landlords to buy beer at above market rates. And they say the deals are crippling pubs, which are closing at the rate of 52 a week. This week the Office of Fair Trading will deliver its verdict on the over-charging claims - Mirror ​

"There are many in the pub industry who will be quite happy to see the back of 2009, a year in which the downturn has squeezed margins further and in turn caused more closures and business failures. Unfortunately, 2010 could prove equally hazardous for some," writes Neil Morgan of Christie + Co - The Times ​