But the alcohol industry is fighting back, by offering supermarkets large discounts as a result of the huge buying power the likes of Tesco have.

Reports this weekend, all point to the huge part the national supermarket chains are playing in encouraging the nation to drink to much alcohol, by way of targeting the younger, booze-buying public with offers they find it hard to refuse.

Walk into any high street branch of Tesco, or Asda, and more often than not the first thing you will see, is a pallet containing crates of cider or lager, stacked to the roof, and available as part of a buy 1 get 1 free offer.

For £8, shoppers can buy 15 cans of 4 per cent Tennent's lager, eight bottles of 4.5 per cent Strongbow cider or 15 cans of 5.3 per cent Strongbow.

Inside the store customers will also find multipacks of 3 per cent Asda Smart Price lager at 92p for four cans or £2.90 for a dozen – about 25p a can.

Tesco also has the multipacks piled high. For just £10 customers can buy a 20-pack of strong Stella Artois. Buy two and pay only £16 – a price of 40p a bottle.

By contrast a small bottle of Coca-Cola costs 91p. A bottle of Volvic mineral water is 99p and a packet of Walkers crisps costs between 39p and 45p.

Since it was decided that cannabis would be reclassified, the price has shown a marked rise, with locally available "soapbar", a derisory term used for a "fake" cannabis resin which is often adulterated to make up the weight, now costing more than it has done for over ten years.

Proof if it were needed all the governments actions against cannabis would seem to have only benefitted the alcohol industry, with which its been said the government enjoys a "cosy" relationship, and so it would appear.