From: Clive Denton
Date: 2007-10-23 17:35:43
It seems to me that it wont be long before we will need a permit just to live… Unveiled: radical prescription for our health crisis By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor Published: 23 October 2007 Source: The indipendent Obesity, alcohol abuse, smoking: Britain is among the most unhealthy countries in Europe. Now a pioneering NHS adviser is proposing a revolutionary cure for our ills A radical plan to persuade people to stop smoking, take more exercise and change their diets was proposed last night by a leading Government adviser. As new figures were published yesterday showing that England tops the European league as the fattest nation in the EU, Professor Julian Le Grand, chair of Health England and a former senior Downing Street aide to Tony Blair, said a completely fresh approach was required by Government to reverse the epidemic of obesity and to tackle similar ills caused by “excess consumption”. In a speech to the Royal Statistical Society last night, Professor Le Grand said instead of requiring people to make healthy choices – by giving up smoking, taking more exercise and eating less salt – policies should be framed so the healthy option is automatic and people have to choose deliberately to depart from it. Among his suggestions are a proposal for a smoking permit, which smokers would have to produce when buying cigarettes, an “exercise hour” to be provided by all large companies for their employees and a ban on salt in processed food. Read Full Report
