WHAT a disgrace that the Tory and Lib Dem Government have backed down on curbs to cigarettes and alcohol. Their policy seems to be to chase every vote and they forget how many people will suffer as a result.

We need plain packaging and graphic health warnings on cigarettes straight away. Creating a minimum price for supermarket alcohol will discourage binge drinking and protect our pubs. Many more Oxford youngsters will become addicted to tobacco and end up in hospital after drinking too much. It is all thanks to this cowardly u-turn by the Coalition Government.

It is not just Tory adviser Lynton Crosby who should resign because of his tobacco links. The MP for Witney should start packing his bags too. What can be more important than the health of the nation?

JOHN TANNER (Labour Cllr) Board Member for a Cleaner, Greener Oxford City Councillor for Littlemore & County Councillor for Isis