Today’s vastly annoying news story is that the British Medical Association are saying all advertising for alcoholic drinks should be banned, including all sport and music sponsorship. They also say there should be a reduction in the number of hours licensed premises can stay open and rules on minimum prices. What a load of meddling bastards.
These ‘alcohol is evil’ scare stories are just that: scare stories. The vast majority of people who drink have no problems with it and it forms a part of a healthy lifestyle. As we are well aware, moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks is good for you. However, these self-serving, interfering swine expect the vast majority of sensible drinkers to be ostracised and have to pay more for a recreational pastime which does them no harm at all.
What really worries me is that these stories are given uncritical coverage, because it is easy journalism, shall we say churnalism, to recycle a press release from some officious gits especially if it is a story about how we are all under threat from some bogus health scare. These people should be taken to task if they claim something is bad for us; they should have to prove it.
I am also concerned that these scare tactics will lodge themselves in the minds of the hard of thinking and, much like large numbers of people in the US, the view will come to fruitition that alcohol is something mystically bad and dangerous and anyone who has a half-pint at lunch time will be viewed as some crazed psychotic in need of an intervention, or some such bullshit. The British Meddling Association can shut the bollocks up until they can think of something actually useful to say rather than merely interfering unnecessarily in people’s lives.