Annabel Goldie has applied her mind to the problem of heroin addiction and come up with the answer - abstinence, with support. This solution is brilliant in its simplicity. At a stroke, it does away with the metha-done programme; policing; HIV injected transmission; hepatitis C transmission; dealers (small and big); and drug-associated crime. However, as the councillor said when suggesting the purchase of two pergolas for the park, instead of one, so that they could breed, why not "think big"?

The abstinence solution can be applied to a whole variety of social ills, such as tobacco addiction; alcohol abuse; compulsive gambling; sexually transmitted diseases; teenage pregnancies; and even over-eating.

The problem is, it doesn't seem to work.

Dr William O Thomson, 7 Silverwells Court, Bothwell.

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