The "Nanny State" Run Riot
What Will They Ban Next?
I'm beginning to despair of my homeland, the UK. Under the current Labour administration, the "Nanny State" is running riot. In today's Daily Telegraph (here) is an article about the latest Public Health White Paper that proposes severe restrictions on TV advertising for "junk food".
This comes on top of news last week that the National Health Service is offering "personal trainers" as part of their services and various bans on smoking in public places. Where will it all stop?
There was also this quote from Dr John Read, the Health Secretary, about the White Paper:
"What people want in today's world is as much support and assistance from the Government as possible to help them make the healthy choices that will give them a better quality of life."
Er, no. What I would suggest people want is for the Government to get it's hand out of their wallets and stop bossing them around!
I'm no great fan of either junk food or smoking. However, at the end of the day people have to take responsibility for their own lives. I'm aghast at the Government now holding itself out as some kind of authority on health when it's been the source of so much dangerous mis-information in the past (fluoride in water supplies, promoting low-fat diets and anti-vitamin propaganda, for example).
Of course, one argument is that it's in the national interest to promote better health simply to relieve some of the burden on the National Health Service. I'd suggest this is the wrong way round. Do away with the NHS and let people be responsible for themselves and be free to make their own lifestyle choices but bear the consequences. Unfortunately, the NHS is an untouchable "sacred cow" for the time being.
I'm beginning to despair of my homeland, the UK. Under the current Labour administration, the "Nanny State" is running riot. In today's Daily Telegraph (here) is an article about the latest Public Health White Paper that proposes severe restrictions on TV advertising for "junk food".
This comes on top of news last week that the National Health Service is offering "personal trainers" as part of their services and various bans on smoking in public places. Where will it all stop?
There was also this quote from Dr John Read, the Health Secretary, about the White Paper:
"What people want in today's world is as much support and assistance from the Government as possible to help them make the healthy choices that will give them a better quality of life."
Er, no. What I would suggest people want is for the Government to get it's hand out of their wallets and stop bossing them around!
I'm no great fan of either junk food or smoking. However, at the end of the day people have to take responsibility for their own lives. I'm aghast at the Government now holding itself out as some kind of authority on health when it's been the source of so much dangerous mis-information in the past (fluoride in water supplies, promoting low-fat diets and anti-vitamin propaganda, for example).
Of course, one argument is that it's in the national interest to promote better health simply to relieve some of the burden on the National Health Service. I'd suggest this is the wrong way round. Do away with the NHS and let people be responsible for themselves and be free to make their own lifestyle choices but bear the consequences. Unfortunately, the NHS is an untouchable "sacred cow" for the time being.
posted by Kevin Francis at
1:08 pm
