The government wants to halve the number of cigarette users, infuriating the tobacco industry and diehard smokers. Having banned smoking in all enclosed public spaces in 2000, thereby securing a 25% drop in recorded numbers of smokers, the government's new aim is to cut the proportion of us who smoke by another half - so that by 2020, only one in 10 Britons will still have the habit - The Guardian
Scots drinkers could soon be getting blitzed on this potent German brew - believed to be the strongest beer in the world. Glasgow's WEST bar is the first boozer in the UK to stock Schorschbock - which has an eye-watering 40 per cent alcohol content. But anyone hoping to get tanked up on the super-strength tipple is in for a shock - it costs ten quid for a 25ml shot - The Scottish Sun
Food price inflation fell in January for the first time in five months, helping to curb the effect of the increase in the rate of VAT. The price of food rose at an annual 2.9 per cent last month, down from 3.7 per cent in December, with a marginal rise in the cost of fresh goods such as meat, eggs, cheese and fish, data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows - The Times
Drinkers at a Lincolnshire pub no longer have to pay for their pints in cash - after landlords decided to allow bartering. Carrots and dead partridges have been exchanged for drinks at the Bugle Horn in Bassingham. Some drinkers have also volunteered to wash-up or decorate the pub. Landlords Matthew Walsh and David Hurst said it was a way for independent pubs to compete with special offers at larger chain bars - BBC