Yes yet another ban is DEMANDED. And this from a group of people who are notoriously very heavy drinkers. If you’ve ever been to a party at a doctor’s house, you’ll know what I’m talking about!
We all know that there is far too much drinking going on in this country, especially, though not exclusively, among the young. The fact of the matter is, though, that a ban on alcohol ads will not do the trick. Perhaps these ill-advised doctors would like to follow the Americans’ lead instead and ban alcohol altogether à la Prohibition. They would soon come to learn that such a ban would be disastrous. In the US so disastrous was that ban that the law had to be repealed. The Prohibition led to the gangster era of Al Capone. It was also the era of the speakeasy. We all know what that era entailed. Many people drank themselves into oblivion!
The fact of the matter is that the dreadfully high level of alcohol consumption in the United Kingdom is symptomatic of far more deep-seated problems. And no ban on advertising will solve them. I would suggest that in many, many cases the problems could all be traced back to the cradle.
Children having absentee parents, with both parents out in full-time employment, certainly cannot be helping this problem, for indeed it has to be said that good habits are learned during a child’s upbringing.
But this is the government which has encouraged more and more mothers to go out into the workplace to seek their fortune and fulfilment. Damn the needs of the few children that are born to indigenous mothers these days; when they come home from school, they can darn well look after themselves.
But such a way of raising children only encourages a feeling of insecurity in them. Furthermore, there is nobody at home to teach our children good, correct values. The Church no longer does, either. Don’t forget that children in years gone by often had not only a mother at home, but very often a grandmother, too. These days they rarely have either one of them. They were also usually sent to church and Sunday school, especially in the formative years.
So we need not scratch our heads in search of a solution to the drinking problems associated with our young these days; we need look no further than the way we raise them. It is often deplorable! Little wonder they go off the rails. – © Mark
TIMES ONLINE: A total ban on alcohol advertising must be introduced by the Government to halt an epidemic of problem drinking, doctors’ leaders said today.
A report from the British Medical Association (BMA) has called for a sea change in the approach to alcohol regulation to halt promotions including happy hours and sponsorship of music and sports events.
The move is necessary to stem the invidious ways it is promoted, particularly to young people, it said.
The report also highlights the growth of viral advertising on the web and mobile devices, including the use of texts and e-mails, and social networking sites such as Facebook.
The report, Under The Influence, recommends a tough package of measures to tackle the soaring cost of alcohol-related harm, including a ban on advertising and a minimum price to be set per unit of alcohol.
The BMA also called for alcohol to be taxed at a higher rate than inflation and for a ban on two-for-one offers.
The study said that alcohol consumption in the UK has “increased rapidly” in recent years among all age groups. It blames advertising, heavy discounting, the availability of cheap alcohol and 24-hour licensing laws. Doctors demand ban on all alcohol advertising >>> Sam Lister, Health Editor | Tuesday, September 08, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: The tobacco war has been won. Now it is the turn of alcohol. The British Medical Association opened a new front in the battle to cut excessive drinking today with a call for a total ban on advertising and marketing of alcohol, including sports and music festival sponsorship, an end to happy hours and the imposition of a minimum price per unit on alcoholic drinks.
"The BMA is not against alcohol," Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics insisted today. Few people will believe that.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association lost no time in pointing out that "the measures proposed by the BMA would hit the pockets of millions of consumers and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of people working in the drinks industry, media, advertising and television."
In other words, the health fascists are on the loose again. First it was cigarettes, now it is drink - what next? Chocolate? >>> Jeremy Laurence, Health Correspondent | Tuesday, September 08, 2009
