Tuesday 30 October 2012

Tolerance

Spotted by Bob E in The Globe & Mail:

"There’s an epidemic of obesity in our society. ... We want to do something to turn back the clock," OMA [Ontario Medical Association] president Doug Weir said in an interview... "If we want to keep health care sustainable in the province, we have to do something," Weir said.

In a policy paper in this month’s issue of the Ontario Medical Review, the OMA said the success of anti-tobacco campaigns shows that there is now more tolerance for what may be perceived as manipulative or coercive measures.

10 comments:

Lola said...

Doug Weir might find the success of my lamp post and piano wire campaign equally 'successful', but he might not enjoy it.

Curmudgeon said...

Sadly these people still don't seem to acknowledge that, on a whole life basis, "healthy" people who live to extreme old age place the biggest burden on the public purse.

It's not about health so much as control.

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, if you can get the general populace to 'tolerate' such a policy, you'll get away with it.

C, and on average on a whole-life-basis, smokers are healthier than non-smokers (there are few really old and doddery smokers who require round the clock care).

proglodyte said...

Bring it on...I think they underestimate the electorate, most of whom will become targets for one thing or another. When manipulation and coercion is no longer tolerated is when smokers will start to regain their freedoms. They may be riding the crest of a wave but sooner or later that wave will break on the shore.

Old BE said...

It's a puritanical campaign from start to finish. I don't know why the "clean living" brigade care whether other people live cleanly just as I don't understand why Christians should be so scared of gays getting married. Weird superiority complex.

BE

Sarton Bander said...

State treatment rationing means state meddling in EVERYTHING you do.

Lola said...

C and MW

I am a life-long non smoker.

Benefits so far received.

1. ages 2 to 10 - extended hospitalisation for asthma and exzema
2. 10 to 11 1/2 - 16 months in Davos courtesy of NHS (best thing ever)
3. 11 1/2 to about 16 - more hospitalisation and medication.
4. 16 to about 57 - free medication and various amounts of doctoring for asthma exczema
5. 57 - 6 weeks in hospital with endocarditis (arguably caused by failure of health bureaucracy)
6. 59 Open heart surgery to fit new valve. Op plus 11 days at HM pleasure.

So, on balance I reckon that smoking would have been less costly and I would have paid extra taxes.

Please carry on puffig away to pay for my healthcare.

Sarton Bander said...

For most people Obesity is much more likely to be a side effect of Anti-biotics altering the gut flora than diet.

Robin Smith said...

Food is a drug, people abuse it because they are so lonely, they are so lonely because we are all rent seekers. There is one cure for this, to find life. Who cares how long we have lived. Just that we have lived. Most living people are already dead, and tell us that chronic drug abuse is fine. All addicts say that in denial. Dead people looking for life using drugs to keep it all out of sight.

Transform are a lobby group for monopoly power in the corporate drug companies who will gain massively from legalisation and regulation of drugs. It will just be a transfer of monopoly from an illegal mafia to a legal one.

You will call me rude or something. My rudeness or your denial of root cause. Think.

Robin Smith said...

Food is a drug like any other. People overuse it because they are slaves. They are slaves because of rent seeking.

Legalising and regulating drugs just shifts the monopoly from an illegal mafia to a legal one. That will make it more expensive.

99% of the cure of alcoholism is to admit you are harmfully adficted. So much denial.

The theory here if taken to the extreme says that if you inhale smoke continuously you will get healthier. Oh dear oh dear. This is the mind set of a homey.

Pure denial.