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Written by Alex Williams
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Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
Research published this week has shown that 'hazardous' drinking habits
are mostly concentrated in England’s more affluent areas, contrary to
the 'binge drinking yoof' stereotype that plagues the debate about
alcohol-related health.
According to the report, men who drink between 22 and 50 units of
alcohol per week, and women who drink between 15 and 35 are most likely
to reside in middle-class suburbs such as Harrogate and Runnymede.
The news has been followed by the predictable clamouring of society's
new high priests – the interventionist scientists – calling for the
government to raise alcohol taxes in order to discourage consumption.
Fears that the health service will come under unmanageable pressure as
a result have been used as arguments for new government intervention to
stop this social 'crisis'.
It would be refreshing if these scientific puritans would finally
realise that the NHS does not exist for their own intellectual
titillation, but to serve its customers – the British people. We are
not there to make its life easier, but vice versa. To constantly try
and mould individuals into a convenient model for a failing health
system is both misguided and draconian public policy.
The onset of such 'wear and tear' diseases as liver damage is a sign of
humanity conquering nature through the outstanding advances of medical
technology. This is to be celebrated, but we also have to realise that
something is going to kill us in the end. To sacrifice joie de vivre in
the name of extending your life, or worse to have that decision taken
for us, seems to be a misguided step.
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