Fat's life - CMO targets food and drink
Saturday, July 21, 2007 
Our old friend Sir Liam Donaldson (left) is in the news - again. Interviewed in today's Telegraph ('Fat binge drinkers beware. You're next') the Chief Medical Officer says he will "strongly recommend" tax increases on wine, beer and spirits. "Tobacco is a good example of a health problem that is in hand, but when we turn to obesity and alcohol misuse those are not yet anywhere under control."
Calling for a review of the 24-hour licensing laws, Donaldson suggests that drinks companies should be banned from sponsoring sporting and other events. "It's something that worked with tobacco. I would say that there's fruitful things to be looked at in that territory."
Years ago I gave a speech to the Adam Smith Institute's Independent Seminar on the Open Society, the theme of which was 'Today tobacco, tomorrow food and drink'. In those days no-one was really listening. Now that 'tomorrow' is today, perhaps more people will finally wake up to what is happening.
The CMO is said to be appalled that "some very unreliable science" (concerning a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism) could create such alarm among the general public. That's good, because it means he knows how some of us feel about the impact of some equally unreliable science on smoking in public places. If he doesn't, I shall be writing to let him know. I suggest others do too.
Full interview HERE.
Reader Comments (19)
There is no doubt that we are suffering from a binge drinking culture in this country, particularly amongst the young and obesity is becoming a growing problem. Liver problems, diabetes and heart disease are on the increase as a result. The question is - is the government acting within its remit if it attempts to tackle these problems?
At the very least it is quite reasonable to raise awareness of risk and health consequences of reckless behaviour. But in the end it has to be the individual's responsibility on how they live their lives, providing it doesn't impact on others.
Nevertheless, there may be some merit in raising taxes on alcohol if it was true that that would tackle excessive consumption.
The problem with increasing taxes as the CMO suggests, it has been proved time after time that it just doesn't work. When you ban something, it only makes it appear more popular. He should treat it the same as one of the eruptions on his face. By ignoring it, it will go away.
If you think that raising taxes on alcohol would have any effect on heavy drinking, you are certainly devoid of any knowledge of reality. Tax and ban, the same old trash.
Maybe people drink to excees to escape the escalating, oppressive nature of this rip-off society, There will always be a backlash, and some of it not productive or pretty. The price of a pint is so exstortianate in some places, it makes you want a drink to calm down!
For Christ sake Robert, surely you don't really believe all that old twaddle do you? Whether I agree or disagree with you on other issues, I have always thought that you were an intelligent man, but to hear you say that the idea of raising taxes on alcohol might help to the epidemic that we have today is just pure hogwash.
How many time has the level of duty on petrol been raised? We Pay more duty on our fuel than any other country in the world, so did that stop any of us driving? Please don't bother replying that question, as we all know the answer.
So how the hell do you think raising the duty on alcohol would help in any way at all our booz culture?
This government knew what they were about to cause when they introduced 24 hour drinking. They did it for one reason, to raise the levels of tax at a later date, which is coming up soon, and tell us all that good old Nanny is doing it once again for our own good, and they even have the word of their own CMO to prove the facts to us.
How many more sets of dubious "facts" is Mr Donaldson going to shove down our throats in order to further his own career?
We desperately need a public enquiry into Mr Donaldson's activities. He should be made to stand in court and scientifically prove what he has said, about so many things. The man is a fraud.
Well done Peter - sense at last!
Maybe I have got the understanding of binge drinking totally wrong and I,m sure someone out there will educate me, but my interpretation of the word 'binge' was of someone who generally drinks lightly or not atall through the week and would then 'party' at the weekends throwing as many alcopops and vodka ice down their necks in a short period of time!
I am 46 years old and confess that i partake in some form of alcaholic beverage every day of the week, this is usually after I have spent a hard day in the office to unwind and relax. I drink in moderation and within my limits, this is my choice, as is the fag I have with it. Does this make me a binge drinker?
Surely raising taxes will effect everyone and not just the binge drinkers and furthermore what will this addittional tax money be spent on?
Maybe I'm just getting old, but surely we can think for ourselves and don't need to be protected from our own demise by the likes of Mr Donaldson.
Is this man so pure, I doubt it. Why can't the government give the general public some credit, we are not stupid, we know what is good for us and what isn't and we are all capable of making our own decisions.
The more time goes on the more I feel we live in a dictatorship thinly vieled as a democracy just because they give us the right to vote.
Lets hope that when Mr Donaldson's ideas are put to the public, the drinkers of this country together with the people who are slightly over weight will join together with us smokers to show him that enough is enough.
Bit of a rant but he ho!
You say sorry for "a bit of a rant", Robert? Please don't, you are entitled to rant and rant and rant, every bloody day of the week at the way you are being treated by this government.
Keep it up, you and I are right, and one day right will prevail (we hope)
Liam Donaldson claims that "the evidence is quite strong that putting the price up (on alcohol) helps (to reduce demand)".
Peter Thurgood asks "You don't really believe all that twaddle do you?" and then correctly states that rising fuel duties have not stopped us from driving.Although dramatically rising petrol prices in the mid 1970s did see many people urgently switching to more economical cars.
Alun C claims that "it has been proved time after time that this approach (rising tax duties) just doesn't work".
So who is right? I don't know but I do believe in the law of supply and demand and that some commodities are price sensitive and others less so. The suggestion that levels of alcohol consumption are completely insensitive to price increases I think is wrong.
It would admittedly be unfair on moderate and sensible drinkers. I have a glass of red wine with my dinner each day but if the price of tackling an explosion in liver cirhossis in others is for me to pay out a little more at the supermarket for my wine I think it would be an altruistic thing to do.
The question is - how sensitive would binge drinking be to rising alcohol prices and would the government be acting within its remit to tackle this growing public health problem?
Is there any lethal injection that can be administered to that monumental killjoy Sir Liam Donaldson?
This relentless attack on peoples lifestyles is giving me nightmares.
I bet if I shoved my head up my own backside I'd find this miserable pillock up there - unless of course one of you guys hasn't found him first and beaten him to death with his own intolerance!
Just watched the BBC news.
This guy (Donaldson) is on a one man mission to save mankind.
What will he do once everyone lives to 120, no pensions, massive NHS bills - will he restrict families to 2 children or less - now where have we seen that happen?
He's out of control! but in a wierd way, in control.
Please wake me from this nightmare!
I disagree with you again Robert. If the levels of so called "binge drinking" are really as high as we are being led to believe, then surely that is yet money being poured into the government coffers on the revenue they are collecting from the "bingers?"
So why then do we need even more tax being levied upon us?
Robert, supply and demand is a factor - you are quite correct, and in response to that a rise in alcohol prices will push consumers to more economical beers, just as the rise in petrol prices pushed people to more economical cars.
We didn't do less miles, we just demanded more miles per gallon.
Similarly high alcohol prices have been consistantly show to have no impact on binge drinking - we have VERY high alcohol prices compared to the rest of Europe, yet the worst problem with bing drinking.
To have any serious impact on it we would need to considerably hike the price of alcohol, and I'm not talking a 7p rise as proposed by the Tories, I'm talking in the order of a £1 per pint - to actually take us to the point where people can't afford to drink as much as they do at the moment, but that effects us all.
That hits the responsible drinkers quite hard and will in turn hit the pub trade hard as well.
If you reduced drinking by say 5% you'll put 10% of pubs out of business, in the wake of the smoking ban which is already seeing many pubs struggle we could be looking at a 25% reduction in the number of pubs.
That's 100s of thousands of people out of jobs, that's thousands of people out of business - all in the name of the "altruistic" desire to protect people from themselves.
That it NOT the kind of world I want to live in.
Robert - people will not buy less alcohol, they will still buy alcohol and the bingers will still binge. I think it was Tessa Jowell who said we'd create a cafe society - looks pretty unlikely to me judging by the bahaviour of people and the British weather. I think, Robert, you live an an idealistic world of your own because you are capable of drinking in moderation and choose to do so. However, when you get into the real world you'll find there are very many who are not so reserved and controlled. Other posters above have expressed very well my opinions.
Robert and Bob, you are both wrong. the rise in petrol prices did not push people to buy more economical cars. The car manufacturers did this.
The car manufacturers saw a wonderful opportunity to sell more cars by jumping on the economy car band wagon, tell the gullible public that by buying their new wonder car they would be saving money, and hey presto they bought it, hook line and sinker. It was a marketer's dream, just like the "help quit smoking" is now to the pharmaceutical trade.
Yet another tax coming up. Now that they've forced all our landlords to heat up the outside of our pubs as well as the empty insides they've found a way round the problem- We are now to have a "green tax" on patio heaters.
Is there anyway we can get rid of this Donaldson nutcase?
Carlo, get onto your (supportive) MP and ask if he/she can instigate a public enquiry into Donaldson and his "so called" findings.
I saw Donaldson on the TV the other evening and thought whilst he was speaking about obesity, etc that perhaps he should get his own house in order first, after all he looks overweight, if not obese, himself!
Perhaps this is the only way he feels he can manage his weight so he is going to punish everyone - yes everyone - I know people (not me unfortunately) who need to eat a high calorie diet in order to maintain their weight and often struggle to put weight on or keep it, the same way most of us struggle to get weight off and keep it off - so these people will suffer financially possibly more than most of us.
With regard to extra taxes, it may have caused some people to give up smoking in the past, by forever increasing the tax, but others who cannot do without their ciggies will go without other things first, like, possibly healthier food as this seems to be more expensive than the food that isn't so healthy!
Perhaps, rather than taxing so called unhealthy foods the government should look at reducing or removing tax on healthy foods as I am sure many more people would like to eat healthier, but they cannot afford to.
Perhaps I should say subsidise healthier food, as I don't believe food is taxed at the moment - but am open for correction.
Lyn
You have to laugh, pubs say that because of the smoking ban sales of food have gone up. What sort of food do they sell in pubs? Deep fried foods. Why not just let the smokers back in?
I mean, how many pub meals can you eat, one maybe two at a push, how many cigarettes can you smoke while drinking, several. So if I pay £5 for a meal and £3 for a pint you've got £8, but if I can smoke in a pub and have three pints you've just made £1 profit.