Those damn Warnings

According to a recent article, the Department of Health has proposed to put warning labels upon liquor bottles, similar to the ones currently on cigarette packets.

We strongly oppose the proposed messages as biased and unsubstantiated.

If a man is a wife beater, he cannot blame it upon alcohol. If a person is a criminal, he cannot blame it upon alcohol.

A moral problem that is being exacerbated by the abuse of alcohol, cannot be compared to the consumption of alcohol.

We would like to see the Department of Health withdraw the Draft Regulations and embark upon a campaign to educate; much like the current one supported by the Association for Responsible Alcohol Use and other major role players in the industry; which will educate people about the dangers of alcohol abuse, but based upon scientific fact.

By trying to control the result and not the underlying cause, the Department of Health is moving into the domain of the Spiritual and Religious and taking over the responsibility of the family unit and parents, something for which they have no mandate.

(Of course, since this piece was written, the Department have gone ahead, blustering their way through the public debate and doing what they do really well: Telling us what is good for us.)