Wendy WilliamsHERE we go again!
The health fascists in the government of NSGB, not satisfied with stopping us from smoking, now want to stop us from drinking.
Regular readers might remember that I predicted this scenario many months ago.
They have just dusted off all the old statistics about liver disease, heart attacks, etc. etc. and wheeled them out to justify another futile endeavour at social engineering.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has announced that, amongst other things, she will be setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol sold and will ban special offers such as two-for-one on booze sales.
She obviously knows what is good for us so why she doesn’t go the whole hog and declare prohibition is beyond me.
It failed in America in the 1920s so, for an administration that is entirely devoid of any sort of original ideas, why not try it again now?
If it wants to discourage the drinking of alcoholic beverages, the government’s job should be one of education not of imposing a nanny state on everyone, moderate drinkers included.
If retailers flout the law and sell booze to under-age persons then they should be vigorously prosecuted.
However, if anyone over the age of consent chooses to drink to excess then it is their decision entirely.
If they don’t impose their values on anyone else they should be left to their own devices.
The offence of being drunk and disorderly in public is already on the statute book so why not enforce it.
At 18 years everyone is regarded as a mature citizen which gives them the right to choose their own lifestyle.
Educate them by all means but don’t come the “Nanny knows best” routine.
And what about those of us who are a tad beyond 18 years? We are again being penalised because an immoderate minority has yet to learn how to hold its whisky.
Look out for: graphic health warnings on anything with an alcohol content; a ban on advertising liquor of any sort before the 9pm watershed: followed by a total ban on advertising liquor; all bottles of wine to carry nondescript labels which won’t attract young people; a ban on displaying bottles in liquor stores; imposition of a maximum alcohol content (probably close to zero percent) on all alcoholic beverages; and, finally, prohibition itself.
For my money, I wouldn’t appoint Theresa May as secretary of a glee club let alone Home Secretary of a nation. It is quite obvious that she couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.
When asked on BBC Breakfast recently about her own drinking habits and how many units she consumes in the average week she deployed the politician’s usual trick of avoidance. Her answer was based around the idea that her consumption depended on what was going on in her life at that time, ie meals out, functions, etc. Is that not the case for many of us? Personally, I seem to have been the nominated driver for the last 34 years, it doesn’t bother me, in fact on the odd occasion I have not been ‘the driver’ I have found that alcohol makes me sleepy, I don’t become the life and soul of the party so where is the point. And as a footnote, my husband works in the whisky industry so Mrs Home Secretary please go away, don’t kill off one of the few remaining industries in Scotland that adds to the GDP and export figures, feeds, houses, educates and clothes my family.
This logic could, and maybe should, be applied to heroin, cocaine, and all other substances that people are wont to use/abuse. There’s no essential difference to alcohol,they all have the potential to addict and harm their users if not regulated. So come on Bartie, wave the banner for legalisation of all junk. Or is that a tad too far in your laissez-faire world?
Stefanjo, you can’t apply the same logic to the Class A substances you have listed because they are already illegal. Alcohol is legal and the government rake in considerable revenue duty from its sale. There is absolutely nothing wrong with alcohol in moderation says the woman who probably drinks less than 10 units a year. It is people who cause problems for themselves. At this rate the nanny state will be banning chocolate biscuits next.
Lindsey : I’m applying Barties logic, not mine. He reckons mature adults should be able to choose what they put in their bodies, legality doesn’t enter into that argument. As for revenue, tax narcotics and the age of austerity would be over. (Tongue in cheek) Bartie doesn’t approve of prohibition on grog so he can’t approve of it in other mind-altering substances. If alcohol was invented tomorrow it would swiftly be banned and join all the other non-approved drugs. Face it, booze causes more problems than all the other chemicals combined. By the way, mine’s a pint of best bitter with a Remy chaser if you’re driving.
y para mi marido un café con Ballantines. And, no, that is not the company he works for. Not driving, I will have una crema de naranja con limonada y hielo por favor.
If only the human race en masse were capable of moderation coupled with enjoyment the problems we see littering our streets and A&E units would not exist. I can’t honestly believe that a good night out must equal being so out of your box that you don’t remember any of it.
Completely agree! Please see my blog on almost exactly the same subject at “http://paellataffy.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/edwina-in-wonderland.html” which concerns Edwina Currie’s attempts to tackle the obesity “epidemic”.
Thank you Paellataffy, your Edwina column was well worth the read. I notice from the picture that Edwina is not quite as skinny as she was when she ordered the great British public to stop eating eggs. And on the subject of celebs loosing weight, have you seen Pauline Quirk on the tv advert for L******life, my jaw almost hit the floor when I first saw it. I am certain she is ages with me as I remember her on Junior Showtime before Bonnie Langford joined the crew. Even as a little girl she was a ‘little tubby’ and I say that in the nicest possible way.
Thanks for your kind comments, Lindsay! Damn, I forgot about old Quirkey – she really deserves an honourable mention for all her efforts. I wish her well in her most difficult task, i.e. keeping the kilos off and not letting them creep back with reinforcements!