Friday 1 March 2013

Slippery slope: game over

Anybody want to tell me there's no slippery slope now?

Doctors' leaders want tough action to limit the sale and promotion of alcohol, including cigarette-style graphic warnings and an end to drinks firms sponsoring sport, to tackle the growing toll of drink-related problems.

The alliance of 70 medical bodies and health charities is demanding that:

A third of the label on all cans and bottles of alcohol should be given over to a hard-hitting warning about the health dangers of over-consumption

A ban on all alcohol advertising and sponsorship. That would stop alcohol manufacturers paying millions to have their name on teams' shirts or in the title of a competition – such as Budweiser, which sponsors the FA Cup in England


Anybody?

No?

Oh, and there's more...

• Drink sales in shops and supermarkets should be restricted to certain times, and alcohol products sold only in designated areas, to reduce "pre-loading" – in which people drinking cheaper shop-bought alcohol before going out

• A hike in the price of high-strength products, such as certain wines, to discourage consumption

• Local councils do more to stop the proliferation of premises selling alcohol in certain areas

• The drink-drive limit should fall to 50mg per 100ml of blood – amounting to no more than a single pint of beer


The campaign has kicked off with an editorial in the British Medical Journal co-authored by the far-left anti-marketing zealot Gerard Hastings who we have seen around these parts before.

We tried to warn you that this would happen. Enjoy your smokefree pubs, suckers!



6 comments:

nisakiman said...

But of course, that's all they want. They won't be asking for plain brown labels on bottles with 75% given over to pictures of diseased livers etc. Oh no. Nor will they want to ban alcohol from planes, either. Oh no. And they most certainly won't be calling for pubs to limit the amount of alcohol a customer can buy in 24 hours either. Oh no. Nor maximum ABV limits for beer and wine. Oh no, no, no. Don't be ridiculous. All they want is just a teensy-weensy warning on bottles and cans, that's all. I know a world renown expert who will tell us that this is the unslipperiest slippery slope he's ever seen. And he's an expert, so he should know...

Ivan D said...

It goes without saying that Nick Triggle one of the BBCs public health fans has covered this and that the BBC has failed to observe that this "alliance of 70 health groups" is not exactly a majority opinion. I think that many medics would rather this mob shut up before they do further damage to the crumbling reputation of their profession but the MSM does not canvass opinion outside the politically dominated senior ranks of the medical establishment.

Giving in to the authoritarians on tobacco was indeed the start of a very slippery slope. These people will not stop unless we have politicians who have the balls to say no and to question the integrity of establishments that support the likes of Hastings using taxpayers money. It goes without saying that not funding NGOs such as the British Liver Trust would also be of benefit. I have a feeling that many of the 70 health groups are simply the DH in disguise.

Suboptimal Planet said...

It's not surprising that these duplicitous bastards are calling for all these things (despite dismissing 'slippery slope' concerns).

But I would be surprised if they realise these prohibitionist dreams anytime soon. Alcohol hasn't been sufficiently denormalised, and I think this will be a harder fight for them than tobacco.

I was concerned to see "Drink Responsibly" displayed prominently in the pitch-side Guinness ads at Murrayfield. It had a "beginning of the end" feel to it.

It's also deeply disturbing that the Coalition is pressing ahead with plans for minimum pricing.

But I don't think the general public buys into any of this, and sooner or later we must hope they stop voting for parties that would impose such policies on them.

The results of the Eastleigh by-election are encouraging.

selsey.steve said...

A couple of weeks ago I was having a beer with a local GP, we were both smoking. I raised the topic of the Health Mandarins banging on about the dangers of booze and fags. The GP went off on a splendid rant! He wanted to know how to silence the 'bloated idiots who'd never seen a live patient' from spouting such rubbish! He most emphatically distanced himself from their 'drivel' (his description) and stated that, amongst his practising colleagues, his opinions were common.

Terry said...

Has the 'slippery slope' actually happened?

No.

So screaming about it as if it HAD happened just makes you look stupid.

Christopher Snowdon said...

Terry,

All the 'health' groups who promised that this would never happen are now actively campaigning for it to happen. We have been sold a lemon for years. Am I supposed to wait until the politicians make it law before I accuse the health groups of being disingenuous liars? I'm not going to wait until that horse has bolted. I hope and expect politicians to resist these demands for the time being, but the 'health' groups have already revealed themselves to be liars. Their agenda unequivocally proves that there is a slippery slope.