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Letters Smoking 26 October 2009 Increasing heart disease has steadily paralleled the rise of motor vehicle use. I would like to recommend a regulation requiring speed governors on private vehicles operating within Scottish borders, limiting them to a top speed of 10kph. Aside from the obvious reduction in accident deaths such a limitation would encourage many Scots who currently drive, to walk or use healthy bicycles instead. The increased exercise would greatly reduce deaths from heart disease while serving as a healthy example to our children who would see driving “denormalised” and spurn future licenses. I grant that “there is no data” that such a regulation would cut heart deaths in half, but “this is cutting edge legislation and will create new evidence.” Hey, these were the arguments used to promote tobacco sales display legislation, according to such personages as Dr Gruer, Director of NHS Scotland, and Shona Robison, the Minister of Public Health & Sport, at Holyrood’s Smoking Conference on September 23, so why not apply it to cars as well? If it makes sense for one, then it should make sense for the other, right? Why am I writing to you from Philadelphia? Simple: the antismoking movement is worldwide and coordinated through multi-million-pound international conferences where thousands of paid professionals and activists plan out these campaigns years in advance. Your “Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill” is more easily passed there than here at the moment, but it will eventually be used to pressure legislation in the States as well. I saw the Scottish pubs in the early stages of being destroyed during an otherwise wonderful visit in early 2006 and I hear daily tales of continued destruction to that backbone of Scottish cultural life in almost daily emails from friends there. This “Bill” is simply one more step in a carefully orchestrated plan to socially engineer smokers out of existence through what they like to call “DeNormalization” – the final solution to “The Smoking Problem.” I don’t believe the Scottish people would approve if they became aware of the full scope and conscious planning of such actions or if they truly understood the extent of the lies upon which imposed smoking bans and their extensions are based. That is why I am writing from Philadelphia. Despite loud claims to the contrary, there’s no real evidence that display bans have anything at all to do with “children smoking.” They’re simply another small step promoting prejudice, discrimination, and denormalisation of those adults who have decided they enjoy a certain somewhat unhealthy pleasure in life. MICHAEL J. MCFADDEN Holyrood Magazine - issue 221 | Previous article Related articles: Budget impact 25 June 2010 Public spending needs reduced 25 June 2010 Budget: fair on disabled people? 25 June 2010 Campaign for Fiscal Responsibility 11 June 2010 Edinburgh salary 11 June 2010 See all articles in this category Submit a comment |
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Proposed minimum price revealedThe Scottish Government has revealed the proposed minimum price for alco... Government increases Pakistan relief pledge The Scottish Government has pledged a further £300,000 to assist t... Alcohol commission report published Labour’s Alcohol Commission has called for a UK-wi... NHS Scotland exceeds waiting times targets Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon praised NHS Scotland for its “bes... UK health comparison stats revealed Scotland’s health record continues to trail those of other nations... |
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HolyroodDaily:
The Scottish Government has pledged a further £300,000 to assist the relief effort in Pakistan, bringing total to £1.2m http://tiny.cc/lnni7
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If we fail to pass this policy I think we will be letting Scotland down, says Sturgeon of minimum pricing. More here: http://tiny.cc/r7vdm
HolyroodDaily:
Scottish Government names minimum price for alcohol as 45p per unit, estimating NHS savings of £5.5m in the first year
