The government’s plan to extend licensing hours seems to be a rather desperate measure to encourage growth (Pubs to stay open until early hours in push for UK growth, 8 October). Will there be enough customers for pubs to afford the additional staffing and running costs of staying open later?

Many pubs are already closing early on some evenings and perhaps not opening on others. If the government really wants to give licensed premises a boost, it should find a way of reducing the price of the drinks they sell, but this would be unpalatable when it’s looking for ways to raise taxes.

Pubs and clubs should be an accessible resource for communities, where friends and families can come together. When pubs were thriving – many years ago – the price of a drink in a pub was much closer to that paid in a supermarket. Until that gap narrows, it is unlikely that there will be any hope of slowing down the alarming rate of pub closures.
Clive Turner
Barking Tye, Suffolk

I wonder how encouraging alcohol consumption squares with the NHS’s plans to reduce the health harms of alcohol and the government’s commitment to prevent the incidence of mental health problems that result in people being unable to work. Alcohol misuse is clearly associated with a range of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, and is a significant cause of death.

In 2023, we had the highest recorded number of alcohol-specific deaths in the UK (10,473). The cost to society of alcohol-related harm, including to the NHS, social care and the criminal justice system, is an estimated £27.4bn each year. It is hard to fathom why the government would contemplate these huge human and exchequer costs. But one should not underestimate the power of the purveyors of the commercial determinants of ill-health, including the drinks industry.
Alan Walker
Emeritus professor of social policy, University of Sheffield

Longer pub opening must mean that the chancellor has decided that the solution to economic difficulties is to drown our sorrows in drink. Presumably, our alcohol‑fuddled brains will also fail to notice the introduction of ID cards and restrictions on free speech.
John Hall
Bristol