WE ALL DESERVE TO BE HEARD

The I Deserve to be Heard campaign by Philip Morris in Australia has attracted support from thousands of smokers.

If my arm wasn't giving me trouble again I'd have a lot more to say about this. I can't write much because it hurts so I'll try not to tax it too much for while.

Meanwhile I'll leave you with a couple of quotes from smokers who say how awful they're being treated in Aus and with the thought that I'll be talking to a tobacco company on Monday about what exactly they are doing to support their consumers in the UK.

Jason, QLD
"Royal Brisbane Hospital…Myself and another father were attacked and abused by the security staff there for being 3 feet inside the hospital grounds. All complaints were heard by the management and they brushed us off because we were smokers. WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS. I served the Military, Queensland fire service and do a lot of community work in our local area and to be treated like an animal after everything I have given this country is appalling."

Justin, NSW
"Waiting for a train in the city one day and decided that I had my coffee so I wanted a smoke. I walked almost 200m to the end of the platform, just to be polite to those around me that weren’t smoking. There was no cover, it was cold and windy, and I was at least 30m away from the nearest person. No sooner had I lit my cigarette than a platform attendant guy came cruising over to me and promptly stated ‘There is no smoking on the platform, sir, you’re going to have to leave or I will contact the authorities.’ Needless to say, I was dumbfounded…absolutely gob-smacked. I had gone out of my way (out of courtesy) not to bother any of the other people on the platform, braved the cold and the wind, only to be told (basically) that the only open area where no one would be harmed was an inappropriate place to smoke. Where is the logic? Where is the justice?"

Life is fatal

Apparently it has now been “scientifically proven” that having more than one drink a day increases your risk of getting cancer. However, given that the article doesn’t say by how much it increases the risk, it’s not something I’m going to spend much time worrying about. As one commenter says, “If it goes from 1 chance in 1010 up to 1 in 1000 I think most people wouldn't care.” Even a 50% increase in a minuscule risk is still minuscule.

If you listened to all the scare stories, you’d never eat anything, as apparently everything from salt through salami to sardines is going to give you cancer. Of course, if you take it all to heart, you run the risk of suffering from orthorexia, which is just as bad for you, and far less fun. If you wrap yourself in cottonwool all the time you will live a very dull and circumscribed life.

Leg-iron has it right when he says that all these increasingly shrill and hysterical health claims are likely to just make people sceptical about all scientific claims, even those that are entirely valid. If you take it all at face value, you end up like his Mr Plastic:

Plastic Man is the Government's vision of the future. Married, two drone kids (hey, a beehive would reject these two as being too droney), follows the Life Plan to the letter, no smoking, no drinking, meals on time, work on time, home on time, in the garden at set times, lawn trimmed to perfection, car parked within inches of the target, washed and rust-free (I never owned a rust-free one. I was Hammerite's best customer for years). In bed by ten, television watched and assimilated, the News is True, war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength... is that a fun life or is that just living for the sake of it?

This study will, though, inevitably be used as ammunition to call for even higher duties and more curbs on alcohol consumption. Of course, the Holy Grail of “alcohol science” is proof that any quantity whatsoever is dangerous, which would strip away the figleaf of “safe levels” and open up a whole new field of restriction and demonisation. Even this report is being used to suggest that the current “safe drinking guidelines” – which are absurdly low and completely without scientific foundation – are actually too high! You can just visualise Professor Ian Gilmore polishing his jackboots when he says “If we really want to see preventable deaths coming down in the next decade or so, I think there will have to be some form of tougher regulation by government.”

Bargain of the year so far

Tesco’s beer offers seem to vary unpredictably week by week, so you never quite know what you’re going to find. This week, they are offering four bottles for £5 across a wide range, including many of the popular premium ales such as Directors, Tanglefoot and Bishop’s Finger, plus the excellent bottle-conditioned Fullers’ Bengal Lancer and local favourite Robinson’s Unicorn Premium which rarely seems to be included in any offers. Given that, post-Budget, they seem to have raised their standard PBA price to £1.89, this is a very worthwhile discount. Punk IPA is in there too, although as the normal price is £1.49 the saving is not as great.

However, standing head and shoulders above everything else is Morland Old Crafty Hen, a superb, complex 6.5% vintage ale which Tesco normally sell for a somewhat prohibitive £2.79 for 500ml. At £5 for four, that’s less than half price, so if it’s to your taste it makes sense to fill your boots while the offer lasts.