Nanny Watch

[caddyman]

Remember when I said that having defeated the demon tobacco, the public smoking ban being the final nail in its coffin, that alcohol would be next on Nanny's agenda?

A great many of you poo-pooed me: "It's too deeply embedded in the culture", "No-one would stand for it", "Impossible to implement" "Throwing up all over the pavement isn't as bad as even looking at a cigarette" and so on and so forth. My prediction was that it would start with doom-laden pronouncements from health officials and move progressively through the governmental and media food chain until drinking is, if not banned, severely curtailed, taxed to death and beyond and bottles/cans covered in health warnings.

The sea change in public attitudes will take a generation or so to embed, but they will happen if the triumvirate of government, health professionals and media continue.

Drinking has now been successfully linked to cancer (looks like a familiar pattern emerging) and already the first calls have been made to introduce 'tobacco-style health warnings'

Auntie's story here.

Comments

[mathcathy]

And then there was Panorama last night.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Um, am I being stupid, is that news ??? Alcohol/cancer ?

[ladkyis.livejournal.com]

no, not stupid but informed and intelligent. The way to get the ignorant masses to conform is to scare the s**t out of them, right? so having got tobacco out of the way not they can up the pressure on alcohol.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

I think you may be missing the point a little. The point I was making is that the bad press alcohol gets is increasing with a view, eventually, to being severely restricted once the National mind-set is ready.

The issue is Nannyism, but people like to sleep-walk into the state sanctioned cotton wool so maybe I shouldn't be bothered.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I recall your warnings. Am already irritated by those adverts which show one's bin full of bottles and the 'thoughts' of one's neighbours along the lines of 'Phew, they drink too much, don't they?' Cos we all stare at each other's bins and make judgements, obviously. Just as we all check each other's bins for chemicals that might have been used in kitchen bomb creation...

And it'll be doubleplusungood.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Those adverts are *awful* !

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I'm not sure, I think the national mind will be much more resistant on this one although I suspect how much of a problem that is will depend on just how they attack it - they'll have an easier time attacking 'cheap' drink(er)s but if they start interfering with the middle classes *right* to chug mid-quality wine then they'll have a fight on their hands.

[fen-wolfchile.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that they'll be able to demonise drink in quite the same way they have smoking, not in the same sort of time scale anyway.

Oddly I'm currently finding myself amused by the advert that infers that penguins and guinea pigs can help me stop smoking!

there's not a good end to this as far as i can see

[suitandtieguy.livejournal.com]

next fun will be outlawed, because it can cause cancer too.

in fact, all we should really be allowed to do is take public transportation to our state-sanctioned jobs, where we work for money which the government decides what we need to live by and they take the rest, and then go home afterwards and watch TV their committees say is OK and then go to sleep and do it over again. that would be the most efficient society.




kill me now.

[romney.livejournal.com]

Don't worry - in place of tobacco and booze, the Government will issue us with Soma and Soylent Green.

[littleonionz.livejournal.com]

Citizen Caddyman,two demerits. One more demerit this year and you will have to go to realignment camp. Have a nice day citizen and don't forget your five portions.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Oi, it was Romney what said that, not me!

[romney.livejournal.com]

...That's your third demerit. See you next July.

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

Well I never had you down as a conspirist !

If you've spent much time on Public Transport late at night, or needed the A&E in recent years it's pretty clear that the irrisponsible use of Alcohol is responsible for many significant social problems.

Something will kill us all eventually, but I admit that the approach taken by Government to warn against dangers is a bit....disjointed.

As I get older and more irascible I lean towards the view that I don't really care what vice people use to speed up their eventualy departure into History, on the previso that it Doesn't:

* Adversely affect me,
* Place an unsustainable drain on my/everyone elses taxes/National Health System;
* Hurt any innocent parties/Fwuffy animalz.

If it meet all these criterion they can knock themselves out.....really.