SO now the supermarkets are to be called on to end "irresponsible" drinks promotions in an attempt to curb binge drinking (CAMRA joins MPs' cheap booze fight, The Press, January 26).

What on earth will we have next? A curb on food promotions because we are all eating too much?

As a retiree I would like to thank the supermarkets for providing me and my wife with the choice of products they do, and at a price we can afford on our £120 per week combined state pension.

We are already excluded from the pubs and restaurants of York, because of the prohibitively high drinks prices imposed by these establishments.

The supermarkets, in my opinion, provide a valuable service for those on low incomes, with their special promotions and expiry-date clearance items.

It is right that pubs curb irresponsible drinking and promotions, since binge drinking is closely associated with social drinking and stag/hen parties, which tend to take place in such establishments.

Supermarkets, on the other hand, are places where we generally go to purchase food and drink for consumption in the privacy of our homes, where binge drinking is less likely to take place.

Consumption of cheap alcohol in the street can be prevented by increased policing. Increasing drinks prices in the pubs and restaurants even further could also reduce binge drinking in public.

Reduced binge drinking will lead to less unruly behaviour in York city centre, fewer smashed shop windows and a reduction in liver damaged bodies being presented to NHS for restoration. Everyone's a winner.

Whatever the solution, keep your hands off our supermarkets.

H L Harris, Burton Stone Lane, York.