Under 24, pregnant and a driver? The EU thinks you are triply stupid.
Or so one might think from the EU's latest bright idea - health warnings on cans and bottles of booze.
One would have to be quite the hermit (and brewing one's own, perhaps?) not to have noticed research, public campaigns and, erm, personal experience to realise that over indulgence in grape and grain can have adverse consequences.
And it is not just the Commissariat that thinks we all need to be told - their polling suggests 77% of the EU's population think product health warnings and nannying adverts are a really great use of public money. However, the most diabolically illiberal proposal of the lot is lower permitted blood alcohol levels for younger drivers. A determining age is not given as such, but much play is made of 15-24 year olds elsewhere. It is hardly worth going into the details of body size, and years of experience on the road being at least as relevant as age, is it?
As always with eurobarometer polls, there are all sorts of other little nuggets hidden away in the findings, with Italy having 40% of the population claiming to be total abstainers. (Of which I imagine a goodly proportion are also pathological liars, as 92% claim to have had a drink in the last month ). Denmark can only muster 7% claiming to be rechabites.
Back on product health warnings, the Maltese, Cypriots and Hellenes are keenest on them, with the Finns and Danes the least. 75% of Britons favour them, apparently. As to random roadside drink testing (which we effectively have already, see passim) , the highest proportion against is 29% in Slovenia. The Greeks must have forgotten about liberty, as 92% are in favour.
One would have to be quite the hermit (and brewing one's own, perhaps?) not to have noticed research, public campaigns and, erm, personal experience to realise that over indulgence in grape and grain can have adverse consequences.
And it is not just the Commissariat that thinks we all need to be told - their polling suggests 77% of the EU's population think product health warnings and nannying adverts are a really great use of public money. However, the most diabolically illiberal proposal of the lot is lower permitted blood alcohol levels for younger drivers. A determining age is not given as such, but much play is made of 15-24 year olds elsewhere. It is hardly worth going into the details of body size, and years of experience on the road being at least as relevant as age, is it?
As always with eurobarometer polls, there are all sorts of other little nuggets hidden away in the findings, with Italy having 40% of the population claiming to be total abstainers. (Of which I imagine a goodly proportion are also pathological liars, as 92% claim to have had a drink in the last month ). Denmark can only muster 7% claiming to be rechabites.
Back on product health warnings, the Maltese, Cypriots and Hellenes are keenest on them, with the Finns and Danes the least. 75% of Britons favour them, apparently. As to random roadside drink testing (which we effectively have already, see passim) , the highest proportion against is 29% in Slovenia. The Greeks must have forgotten about liberty, as 92% are in favour.
Labels: Big Nanny, EU fun and games, surveys
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on Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 2:45 pm.
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Rechabites - I had forgotten about them. I haven't met any for a good few years, but, now I know where to find them
Since casual drink-driving appears to be the norm in Greece (I have personally witnessed drivers with a can of beer in one hand in the presence of police officers, who didn't even bat an eyelid), this does seem rather bizarre. But then, Greeks seem to have an endearing / maddening cultural attitude towards laws per se as being more benevolent suggestions than actual enforceable rules (as least in as far as their application to actual Greeks, rather than Albanians, Gypsies and other riff-raff).
Your Royal Highness - glad to have been of service. I'd stay away from the blasted heath if I were you.
Phil - That seems to be the way with many of our continental chums. I'll forbear from a long rant about common law, government by consent etc etc.
..with Italy having 40% of the population claiming to be total abstainers. (Of which I imagine a goodly proportion are also pathological liars, as 92% claim to have had a drink in the last month )...
Liars indeed!
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