Tuesday 25 May 2010

Turning The Screw

Boy, the anti-drink lobby moves fast!

Sixty per cent of UK adults think drinks packaging should have health warnings, similar to cigarette packets, according to a survey.
Judging by recent righteous scaremongering, this can't be too far away.

The worrying aspect of the aforementioned survey is that it illustrates the effectiveness of state-funded indoctrination and exaggeration. Even with the precedent of the assault on tobacco to refer to (that started with health warnings too), large sections of the public are still willing to participate in their own demonisation.

Mandatory health warnings won't be the end of the matter as far as the puritans are concerned. Far from it.


30 comments:

JJ said...

I tell you what I would like to see on television when you're watching your favourite soap. Anyone drinking or smoking will have their actions pixilated, and strap lines with messages will appear top and bottom of screen.

At certain intervals there will be a message from the health secretary telling us how we should modify our behaviour.

I would like these messages to completly ruin the programme so that it is virtually impossible to watch.

Now then...how long do you think it will take the country to get really pissed off with this nannying shite?

Jonathan Bagley said...

The figure for breast cancer appears to come from the Oxford 1000000 well-women survey (approximate title). Non-drinkers (250000, or a quarter of the sample were excluded. The reason given was that they may have given up drinking as they had a problem with it. i.e. a quarter of 50 year old women are border-line alcoholic. You've guessed, breast cancer incidence for non-drinkers is substantially higher than that for moderate drinkers. This was discussed by Prof David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University on R4's More or Less. The authors refused to come on the show; yet, a few weeks later, the BBC gave one of the authors, either Allen or Allan, I can't remember, a half hour spot to spout, unchallenged, her taxpayer-funded fraudulent statistics. Just one more account of how we end up paying our Government to lie to us.

Furor Teutonicus said...

What next?

Banning drinking in pubs, as they did with smoking?

Because, as we ALL know, this is EXACTLY how THAT started off.

carbchick said...

Jesus christ. There are 64 interactive tools on the NHS website.

Having worked in digital publishing I know how much those things cost to develop.

And you can bet we pay over the odds for each and every one of them, since they're public sector.

But, whatever - cos they're FREE! FREEEEEE!

Bucko said...

Of course they are moving fast. The anti smokers have done all the hard work laying the foundations.
The population is sufficiently accustomed to this kind of crap that anyone with an adgenda can move in now with speed.

Cooking Lager said...

I'm in favour of a warning that says "drinking too much may induce an irrational euphoria that may result in an unintended proposal of marriage to the bird you have so far managed to avoid getting hitched to."

Demetrius said...

Cripes, I'm really scared. I think have just have a large scotch to settle my nerves.

cornyborny said...

Fuck's sake.

Here's hoping the forthcoming cuts will hit the bansturbation advocacy groups hard, because I doubt there's any other way of stopping them and their dreary march across the flowerbed of life.

It's just like that scorpion-given-a-lift-across-the-river story; banning stuff is simply what they do.

Point for any casually-reading bansturbators to respond to: health warnings are at best pointless and at worst actively counterproductive. Assuming that their aim is to curtail independent judgement on the part of the individual, would anyone care to explain how this diminution can possibly be a good thing?

Anonymous said...

I'd love to corner one of these bastards, I really would.

Furor Teutonicus said...

I always wonder how much this has to do with "health" and how much it has to do with the latest small print in the contracts to sell oodles of defence equipment to Saudi.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Puddlecote

Time for direct action - stop paying taxes.

It's the only way. Cut off the government's funding. It is addicted to stealing money from the public with threats of violence. It is for their own good that we cure them of their addiction.

Isn’t it?

Perhaps we ought to send our tax returns emblazoned with pictures of the dangers of excessive government.

Perhaps tax collectors should stand outside in the rain and the wind and the ‘global warming’ while they collect taxes.

There are so many ways to not pay taxes, with the ultimate sanction of Lawful Rebellion.

We own our bodies; we own our country. Our government is our servant.

Time they served us, or served time for robbery.

DP

Furor Teutonicus said...

Time for direct action - stop paying taxes.

A bit difficult with PAYE. And how do you stop paying VAT, except for "growing your own"?

(Question here. I remember the signs in the Post office and that when I was about 5 years old, about PAYE. I remember asking my Great Granny, and she did not know what it was.

BUT, before 1965, or there abouts, HOW was tax deducted? Like in the U.S where you had to do it every year? HOW????)

Anonymous said...

Dear Furor Teutonicus

PAYE is a problem, especially if you work for a large company, or indeed for one of the major corporations beloved of government.

Become self employed.

Fresh food is not VAT-ed. Buy fresh and prepare at home. Make your own wine/beer/cider – great fun, very little time and the results can be better than commercial and tax free (no duty, no VAT and the value is equivalent to pre-tax income, though the ingredients have to bought out of post tax income). Grow your own baccy (I know little of this process). Because of the taxes this is a hugely value added exercise.

You have control over: the modern day window tax (BBC TV Leecence fee) , VAT, alcohol and tobacco duties, parking fees extorted by local councils (the local taxpayers pay for the land, the construction of the car park, the employment of the ‘civil enforcement officers’ and the car park charges). All or some of these can be reduced, eliminated or ameliorated: avoid VAT-able goods and services (you can avoid restaurant VAT by eating in and paying for a mobile chef direct), ditch your TV and leecence, do not Pay and Display in a council car park, drive carefully - anticipate slowing down for traffic lights and congestion and accelerate slowly in the highest gear to save fuel (20% savings possible). Do not work the marginal hour and gift yourself an hour of your lifetime that would otherwise be partially taxed by your beloved government. Do not buy VAT-able things you never knew you needed and then discovered you didn’t.

There are other tax savings to be had.

According to my folk memory PAYE was introduced during the Second World War: Wikipedia seems to agree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-as-you-earn_tax

Start now and make a lifetime commitment to not paying taxes for pleasure and profit and control of government.

DP

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of boozers did not give one shit about their
mates and family members being forced outside of pubs for a smoke.
So, the next bleating, chicken livered,arse licking ,beer sipping
snitch who whimpers in my ear about ale prices will get a large
middle finger.
Anyway who still goes in pubs these days,dipsticks ,pansies and
third hand tartlettes.


Earl Grey

Junican said...

@ Earl Grey.

Your view seem to be a little extreme - but I like them! Although I must admit that I have not seem any tartlettes,dipstick or pansies in my local recently. Erm..not sure about dipsticks though.

Seriously, as a former 9 sessions a week man, I have now reduced by over 50%. Now, I only go to the pub if there is some 'entertainment'. My reasoning is that, if they want to charge me in excess of £2.50 per pint and not provide me with a comfortable place inside to enjoy my tobacco, then they must jolly well pay for someone to entertain me (even if I do not enjoy the entertainment). In other words, in my own mind, I have accepted a trade-off, for the time being.

An awful lot of non-smokers are appalled at the effects of the ban: decent, interesting and amusing people. A lot of these people are cutting down on their visits to the pub - not as often and not as long.

You are right about the dipsticks - sort of. In my personal experience, after most of the smokers no longer bother, those who are left are the slightly manic yoofs and a few anti-smoking, bored old farts.

Roue le Jour said...

Surely the pictures should be a bloke getting his head kicked in in the gutter and a girl being raped on a park bench. Or are those on the lager cans?

banned said...

Alcohol Focus Scotland are still running that 'survey' "Should alcoholic drinks show the calorie content on their packaging"

Its been there for about a year and attracted a grand total of 1047 votes, I just added five more (because they still allow multiple votes, idiots) to push the NO vote from 52% to 53%

Go on, join in the fun yourself

http://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/

As some will remember we got their last survey up to 97% NO before they finally pulled it.

Think I'll cross post this at my palce.

Furor Teutonicus said...

Anonymous said...

Dear Furor Teutonicus

Make your own wine/beer/cider – great fun,


I have 1,500 liters "on the go" in my cellar as I write, and I am making another 250 liters next weekend! :-)))

I also have a still on the go in my "allotment".

Furor Teutonicus said...

Ahh. And I HAVE been known to grow my own....."tobacco" as well;-)

Dick Puddlecote said...

Nice link, Banned. I'll be popping along there at various times during the day. ;-)

Furor: That's impressive production.

Furor Teutonicus said...

Dick Puddlecote said...
Furor: That's impressive production.


I have a mate who owns a pub, and a drink wholesalers. He gets me the kegs. (22 gallon in the U.K, what they are here bugger knows.) I put the beer into them to "cure".

Then I have the gas bottles, and flash cooler. The full pub kit in the cellar. Then it is Piped into my living room bar with the pump heads.

The trick is to resist drinking the stuff when it is still green.

Patience is required.

Fredrik Eich said...

"must admit that I have not seem any tartlettes,dipstick or pansies in my local recently."
I have, but then I live in Brighton and the sun has been out - so everything else on hold and off to the pub it is. In addition, I have also had the company of muesli munchers and tree hugging hippies.

Little Black Sambo said...

Furor Teutonicus: I have 1,500 liters "on the go".

Isn't that a bit dear on liter fuel?

Furor Teutonicus said...

Little Black sambo.

The beauty of it is, that the way I make it, it could REPLACE fuel. Whether for heating or running your motrbike.
:-))))

Somewhere around 15%. Martinni is 14%!

Ian R Thorpe said...

Better a slow painful death caused by enjoyable booze than a slow, painful death from boredom when the obly leisure activity permitted is reading "improving" socialist literature Dick.

Dick Puddlecote said...

Don't talk about 'improvement', Ian, read my latest on schooling.

You need a beer to calm down after weeks like this!

banned said...

Cheers Mr.P. Up to 70% No already.

J Bonington Jagworth said...

You have to wonder what the questions were. I'm sure most of the 60% had never considered warning labels before the survey, but were answering a loaded question that put the idea in their mind (e.g. do you think warning labels would be a good thing or a bad thing?)

What really annoys me about drink here is that every successive government regards it as a cash cow, and uses crime/health/ASBO statistics to excuse the next rise in duty, oblivious to the fact that countries where it is far cheaper have no such problems!

BTS said...

Any spare rooms to let, Furor..?

Furor Teutonicus said...

BTS. Sorry BTS, either full of re-enactment kit and all kinds of weaponary, from muskets to an 1813 Howitzer, full of beer kit, one "half room for an office, and....ahh...oh aye, that was it, there is a bed somewhere as well, which I sometimes use.