Can anyone be too poor to buy a toothbrush? Yes – I know, because that was me | Katriona O'Sullivan

LBC’s Nick Ferrari can’t see what is stopping people buying a cheap toothbrush, but the grinding reality of living in poverty creates its own priorities I don’t listen to Nick Ferrari on LBC very often.

His antagonistic way of dealing with complex problems gets me screaming at the radio far too easily.

Last month was a perfect example.

Someone from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation was on discussing research showing that about 7 million people are struggling to afford basic essentials , including toothpaste and toothbrushes, because of the cost of living crisis.

This did not strike me as a controversial finding.

The cost of fuel, heating, food, school, clothes – everything – has gone up, while wages and benefits have not risen enough to keep pace.

Ferrari, however, latched on to the toothbrushes.

I found myself listening to him talk about the price of cheap toothbrushes in pound shops and at Asda.

At times, it sounded like a price-comparison advert.

At other times, it sounded like lazy journalism: take a complicated issue, strip it of all context and turn it into something that will generate outrage, clicks and applause.

Dr Katriona O’Sullivan is a psychologist, author and professor at Maynooth University.

She is the author of the bestselling memoirs Poor and Hungry , and is a weekly columnist for the Irish Independent Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

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