Did you know my loyal readers that this is "alcohol awareness week"?
No, I didn't know that either, until I by chance came across this wee note (see below) in the Times yesterday.
Speaking personally I don't need any of Nanny's minions to remind me about alcohol, but it is very kind of them to do so!
Regarding the note written by the venerable doctors, I would make a few of observations:
1 They are seriously out of touch, regarding dictating prices that would lead to a £1.50 pint; when was a pint last £1.50?
2 Normal people do not drink gallons of ultra cheap cider. To punish the normal population for the actions of a desperate, sad minority is simply not right.
3 Physician heal thyself: "Although the physical health of doctors compares favourably with that of the general population, they have an increased prevalence of alcohol and drug problems and a higher suicide rate.
Data from the U.S.A. indicate that approximately 10% of physicians become dependent on psychoactive drugs or alcohol at some time during their careers. Dynamic influences in their upbringing, pressure of work and ready access to drugs may all predispose to drug or alcohol misuse."
Source Alcohol and drug use and related problems in the medical profession
I also noted in another media organ that there is a "growing campaign for minimum alcohol prices"...errrmmm...no there isn't! This is merely a media invention to give the media something to write about.
Anyhoo, in order to celebrate "alcohol awareness week" I will be consuming a veritable smorgasbord of alcohol, I recommend that you do the same (feel free to buy some using the excellent links on this site).
Sherry enemas all round!
Here is the letter from the doctors, as per The Times:
"Sir,
As Directors of Public Health in the North West, we believe that the time has come for effective action to stop the irresponsible sale of cut-price alcohol by the off-trade. We welcome the Government's recent proposals to introduce a mandatory code for alcohol retailers and believe that this should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to address increased alcohol consumption and health harm in the UK. However, we also urge the Government to take further decisive action by bringing forward legislation to introduce a minimum price per unit for alcohol of 50p per unit.
None of us comes to this policy solution easily. However, despite considerable investment in the NHS and public health messages, a new Licensing Act and efforts by the industry itself, HMRC figures show that the overall consumption of alcohol continues to rise, as measured by volume of alcohol sold. Hospital admissions due to alcohol harm have risen by 64 per cent in the North West in the past five years. Apart from the implications for public health of this situation, we believe that the cost to the NHS in the North West of £400 million per year is simply unsustainable.
Of course, personal responsibility must continue to be part of our collective focus in tackling alcohol consumption, but it is naive for any of us to think it can be the sole focus. Alcohol is sufficiently price elastic for the aggressive price-cutting we have seen in recent years to affect individual consumption. It follows, as Sheffield University has shown, that raising the price of the cheapest alcohol sold would affect overall consumption and would target effectively the consumption of those that drink above moderate levels.
We know that the Government has argued that it does not wish to penalise moderate drinkers. Neither do we. A unit price of 50p means £1.50 for a pint in the pub or £4.50 for a bottle of wine in the supermarket. Is this really too much to pay to save 3,393 lives per year, to cut crimes by 45,800 and save the country £1 billion every year in alcohol-related costs?
We urge the Government to act quickly and decisively. The political leadership that was shown on smoking in public places needs to be shown on alcohol too. As with smoking, the politicians that take a lead in combating alcohol harm may find that they command the public’s respect and support as a result.
Dr Arif Rajpura
Blackpool PCT
Dr Diana Forrest
Knowsley PCT
Professor John Ashton
Cumbria PCT
Dr Julie Higgins
Salford PCT
Dr Abdul Razzaq
Trafford PCT
Fiona Johnstone
Halton and St Helens PCT
Dr Frank Atherton
North Lancashire PCT
Dr Stephen Watkins
Stockport PCT
Alan Higgins
Oldham PCT
Dr Rita Robertson
Warrington PCT
Janet Atherton
Sefton PCT
Jan Hutchison
Bolton PCT
Melanie Sirotkin
Tameside and Glossop PCT
Dr Kate Ardern
Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT
Dr Sheila Will
Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT
Dr Peter Elton
Bury PCT
Dr Ellis Friedman
East Lancashire PCT
Maggi Morris
Central Lancashire PCT
Dr Heather Grimbaldeston
Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT"
Visit The Orifice of Government Commerce and buy a collector's item.
Visit The Joy of Lard and indulge your lard fantasies.
Show your contempt for Nanny by buying a T shirt or thong from Nanny's Store.
www.nannyknowsbest.com is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Celebrate the joy of living with booze. Click and drink!
Why not really indulge yourself, by doing all the things that Nanny really hates? Click on the relevant link to indulge yourselves; Food, Bonking, Toys, Gifts and Flowers, Groceries
Ish wansts to posht a comment but ish too pished up cos of alkihol.
ReplyDeleteSesh yoush tomorrow.
3,393 lives saved per year? Wow! I thought it would only be about 3,392.
ReplyDeleteBucko I luv u, u ish my besht mate.
ReplyDeleteBurp!
ReplyDelete"We know that the Government has argued that it does not wish to penalise moderate drinkers. Neither do we. A unit price of 50p means £1.50 for a pint in the pub or £4.50 for a bottle of wine in the supermarket. Is this really too much to pay to save 3,393 lives per year, to cut crimes by 45,800 and save the country £1 billion every year in alcohol-related costs?"
ReplyDeleteYes.
A) Unless these Doctor's are acknowledging clairvoyance as a science there's no proof that it will. The excessive drinkers will just mug more old ladies to foot the bill. Also, as John points out, their precise figures are astonishingly accurate, would that they could always be so precise!
B) I actually do think it's too much to pay- a decent, run-of-the-mill bottle of wine at, say, £3.90 is quite enough as far as I'm concerned.
C) Doctor's REALLY can't talk on this one. But I think most importantly
D) the main reasons, to my mind, such an alcohol problem exists in this country is stress and demonisation of alcohol. Rather than adopt a sensible attitude to drink the government try to shove it down the throats of the young (pardon the pun) that so much as sniffing the stuff will lead to knife crime (an exaggeration I know but I'm sure you all take the point). Therefore 'up yours authority' teenage piss-artists are going to drink gallons of the stuff. These teenage piss-artists will eventually become adult piss-artists. The solution as I see it is to give teenagers the odd glass of wine with a main meal like they do on the continent and show the odd glass of alcohol to be the perfectly normal thing it is but primarily to ACCEPT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and for everyone to accept that if someone drinks themself into a coma it's not because the price of alcohol is too low but because that person is VERY STUPID. If you drink 50 litres of alcohol a week you're going to have a problem, newsflash!
On Speenzman FM next week government advisors advise a maximum time a person should be allowed to spend on the telephone to prevent people getting lockjaw from excess talking...
Love Anonymous's idea on enjoyment tax, I'm sure it's only a matter of time...
ReplyDeleteWe did a random surver of 3,393 registered alcoholics. 100% of them agreed that the reason they drink so much is because booze is so cheap.
ReplyDeleteThey also agreed that a minimum price for alcohol would mean that they would have to drink considerably less than they do now as their disability allowance would not cover the increase.
They were all 100% behind the proposed increases.
Oh wait......That didnt happen...
Another example of too much attention being paid to a single issue group.
ReplyDeleteWhat Nanny should be doing is addressing the reasons why so many people are turning to alcohol and other drugs in such large numbers.
A nephew(15) of mine was taken to hospital last year because he was soo drunk, his mates had nicked the vodka from a local supermarket and they all set about drinking it, my nephew consumed about half a bottle and was legless as a result. I had suggested to my sister, a modern day puritan, that she was setting him up for a fall due to her complete ban on booze.....A small sample when her son was ten or eleven in the safety of her home would have likely prevented such a sad incident but, hey ho!!
My current gripe is about the number of TV adverts that appear to have a government instruction at the end ie. Enjoy drink responsibly, Enjoy gambling responsibly. Last night I saw the ultimate Nanny ad which ended in; Be careful with hot liquids!! Tyhanks for that Nanny, but for your helpful warning I would have been quite cavalier with my hot liquids;-)
It's the state of the country that's driving many people to drink.
ReplyDeleteAs with smoking, the politicians that take a lead in combating alcohol harm may find that they command the public’s respect and support as a result.
And, more realistically, they will be told to keep their friggin' noses out!
The genie is out of the bottle with the demonisation of smokers. We're now seeing the beginings of the demonisation of alcohol (and those who don't 'enjoy alcohol responsibly', "responsibly" being whatever the powers that be decide it shoud be this week).
ReplyDeleteComing soon:
- health warnings on ad campaigns (oops, that's already happened)
- ad campaigns banned
- endless public 'information' 'ads' on the risks of drinking (that's already here (note to self, do keep up))
- dubious 'overwhelming evidence' on the evils of drinking
- calls for increased prices (most of it in duty to HMG which will be 'ringfenced' to offset the cost to society of drinking (as per tobacco duty, splutter))
- National No Alcohol Day
- removal of point of sale display of alcohol
- denial of medical treatment to those who don't 'enjoy alcohol responsibly' ditto state benefits, ditto approval of mortgage applications
- an allowance of units of alcohol, monitored by swiping of smart ID card which alerts the authorities to attempts to exceed and prompts visit by health police to 'suggest' attendance at education course on the duties of a good citizen.
Jay
oops - I forgot about alcohol-free zones (already here but unlikely to be as draconian as smoke-free zones which encompass every single 'public' space which is more than 49% enclosed).
ReplyDeleteJay
Better to ban alcohol altogether. This would lead to the mafia running things and would be more democratic in most ways. No quangos or anthing else.
ReplyDeleteThink on it.
I believe it has been claimed that Britain did not go the way of the French Revolution because of cheap gin. Gang warily, Gordon.
ReplyDeleteEveryday in the U.S. 136 people die from drug and alcohol abuse, and data from both government and private sources indicate that these numbers are almost 35% greater than reported 2 years ago. The parents should guide the children properly to overcome drugs.
ReplyDeleteOooh. Look at all those state-paid signatories with nothing better to do with their time.
ReplyDeleteCameron has said we need cuts in the NHS ... well, there's 15 who can go straight away.
Wish of you bashtuds supped my pint? Come on I'll takesh the fuckin' lorroyerz on on the car park!
ReplyDeleteQuote "to cut crimes by 45,800", er, has anybody any idea where that figure comes from?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the figure would actually increase cos people may even steal to obtain the price for a drink.
Yup, I'm really starting to tire of all these statistics