Seriously, how stupid do these people think the rest of us are?

People mithering about the cost of sunscreen - terribly important to beat skin cancer in an age of global warming, d’ye see? - and we get told this:

ONS data shows that sunscreen has risen in cost by 5%, from an average of £6.26 a bottle to £6.58, when comparing figures from April 2018 with the same month in 2023.

We have actually had some inflation since 2018 - you might have noted people talking about it. £6.26, to have a flat real price, should now be £7.61. If we’ve got our denominator the right way around that’s a 16% fall in price over 5 years, not a 5% rise.

This is not the only foolishness here of course:

Asda’s Protect Refreshing Clear Sun Spray at £4 for 200ml and Protect Moisturising Sun Lotion SPF30 at £3 for 200ml both did well.

The reaction to free market capitalism actually solving the problem is that we must stop using free market capitalism:

Leading dermatologists fear deprived families could shun sunscreen due to its cost, as some experts call for a voucher scheme giving children and those in need free access.

Yes, it is to follow such free market success by nationalising the provision of something so cheap.

The suncare market in the UK is worth an estimated £169m,

Yep, they’re seriously suggesting that a £3 a head (there are some 65 million in the country) problem, one that is therefore already solved, be made worse through nationalisation. Scourges and whips are needed to force these mitherers back into a welcome silence.

This is before we even note the real problem. Which is not that sitting in an English country garden leads to skin cancer. It’s that 10 days on the beach in Alicante that causes the burns - the sudden change is the problem, not the general exposure. To actually solve the problem being described would require Britain lowering the cost of sunscreen in Spain, not Britain.

And no, it is not a sensible answer to say that at least it gives these people something to do, to worry about. This is one of those problems already solved therefore we desire silence upon the subject, not suggestions.