When they were trying to outlaw smoking, a number of people remarked that it will be drinking next. I confess I didn't subscribe to this view, but who knows? the first shots may be sounding.
A professor Ian Gilmour, for reasons, one can only suppose, of self-publicity, has sprayed the media with his views about alcohol consumption. Apparently the middle classes are at it. Some of them are drinking at the danger level of of three and a half bottles (per week, that is). The people of Surrey appear to be particularly guilty. Prof Mark Bellis, the director of the North West Public Health Observatory (did you know there was such a thing? Have a guess who's paying for it), suggested "substantial" increases in the price of alcohol could help to tackle the problem.
The first thing to say here is that these gentlemen really should try to get out more. I don't think I know anybody who drinks as little as this and we can't all be for the morgue at an early age. There is no scientific proof or even evidence that these levels are damaging, because there has been no proper study carried out. The second thing is to ask whether they had considered minding their own business. There is a nice little piece in the Mail (here)by John Mortimer 'The true sickness of our times is not that we eat too much, smoke cigarettes or knock off a bottle of wine in an evening. It is the ever-growing tendency of medical boards, Government officials, politicians and other groups.... to tell us how to lead our lives.'
As to Mr Bellis, here in Italy good wine is 1 euro a litre (52p a bottle) and plonk cheaper than that. And yet the Italians are living longer than the British. And you never see anyone drunk on the streets.
I suppose these ill-informed busybodies will only shut up when there is such a public outcry that the newspapers don't bother to print their self-opinionated drivel. We should start that outcry now.
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