NICE work if you can get it
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 19:18 The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is obsessed with its own importance, writes Simon Hills, associate editor of The Times Magazine, on The Free Society website.
NICE advises the NHS on treatments and makes recommendations to the NHS and other organisations on how to improve people’s health and prevent illness and disease. Like most quangoes it is obsessed with its own importance ...
Current thinking is that you need to control the innocent to bring the guilty to heel. (Stalinism, in other words.) So the government last year was presented with a report to lower the drink-driving limit to one that will ensnare sober drivers on the dubious evidence that it might “save lives” ...
We naughty citizens, as always, need to be more strictly governed. Needless to say that after 20 years of bullying and curtailing our freedoms, far from enjoying the possibility that we might soon not have to die of anything, all the government and its self-serving quangoes have achieved is to make society rather more obnoxious than it was.
Reader Comments (11)
The usual blackmailing bullshit 'it wll save thousands of lives'
That is what is so confusing Peter. In the current and recent climates, why would they government want to save lives? We are all living too long and draining the coffers, hence contributing to the very sorry state of the economy.
I, for one, would rather live a shorter but happier and more contented life than a longer one under the current regimes and downright bullying!
Hurrah! I am once again able to access Taking Liberties! I do not know how the problem arises, but for the last four days, whenever I have tried to click on Tak Lib I have received the message 'no access'. Really weird.
NICE is supposed to be the quango which decides what treatments on the NHS are worth the cost. For example, is a drug which may or may not prolong the life of a person for a few more weeks, and which is very expensive, the sort of thing that the NHS should be spending money on? That is what we all think that NICE exists for. But if you go to their website, you will find that NICE has far more fingers in the pie than you think. If you type into the 'search' box the word 'surveys', about 163 items are revealed. It is odd how many of them are to do with 'smoking'. In other words, the unelected health zealot aristocrats have total control.
The health zealots are the new aristocracy, Their word is law and they are unelected. No one can contradict their 'studies' and their 'surveys'. This aristocracy has taken over the UN, the WHO, the EU, our own Health Dept. We definitely, definitely need a revolution. In the DT today, another study appeared saying that just a little alcohol is good for you. That study is just as spurious as those which state that alcohol is bad for you. None of them are scientifically correct.
Our children and grandchildren are being subjected to 'brainwashing' in schools. I fear for their future.
When did Englishmen become slaves?
' When did Englishmen become slaves' ? Ans. When our political masters sold us down the river to the EU agianst our wishes Junican.
Spot on Peter James, Spaot on!
I see Debs Arnott is taking a kicking here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/tobacco-taxes-budget?commentpage=2#start-of-comments
The problem is that Ms Arnott doesn't give two hoots what the public think. She's got direct lines to the DoH, who no doubt regard her as on a par with Mother Theresa. and that's all that counts to her.
I can't understand why questions of pub closures or tobacco smuggling are referred to the DoH to comment on. I'd expect the Business Minister and the Home Office (or whatever they're called these days) to be responsible. Since when has either of these things been within the remit of the DoH?
Hi im Nick Clegg, very sorry to not be in touch, but I wish to let you all know there will be no amendment on the smoking ban. i have just realised my position as deputy PM and become aware of my reasponsibilites thanks to my Spansish wife whom makes all my judgements for me. I wish you to all know on this site i am very gratefull for your unending support and together we can continue to lick Americas & Europes backside.
I have just looked at 'Wales on Line', Simon - about the intention to cut smoking in Wales by 30% over the next few years. I noted that there were five quite long comments from various health professionals (obviously, well thought out comments) and only one very short one from yourself.
I sometimes wonder if there is any point in making a comment in these obvious propaganda situations, assuming that these 'journalists' simply want a quote from you just to 'balance' the quotes. However, I understand that it would be difficult to refuse to comment since they would almost certainly say that: "SC of Forest said 'no comment' "
I wonder if, assuming that you have been informed of what the article says, it might not be better to say something like: "We at Forest speak for people who enjoy tobacco. There are fifteen million of them. We do not accept this propaganda as a genuine reflection of the facts ...." The .... refers to some specific regarding the actual article or quote.
For example, as regards Arnott's contention that increased taxes will not increase smuggling, one could add: "Ten years ago, very few people bothered to bring home from their holidays significant quantities of tobacco. There was no need, since the price, despite taxes, was reasonable. It is nonsense to expect that people are too stupid to understand they can use the rules regarding the import of tobacco to their advantage."
As regards children, one could say: "Millions and millions of children have grown up in the company of people who enjoy tobacco. Over the last seventy years or so, life expectancy has increased to about eighty years. How can it be true that tobacco smoke has been damaging the health of children? The children who should have been damaged are the people who are now living beyond eighty years."
I do not know if these comments are helpful. I make them only in the sense that a reasonable person reading them in a newspaper would regard them as true, and therefore regard the commenter as genuine.
I think that these are fantastic comments, Junican because they really highlight the absurdity of the zealots' position.
Kind of you, Joyce!