Welcome to the new nanny state

Dear Nuffield Council of Bioethics,

Your reputation for high quality research and scientific expertise is well deserved and you command a strong degree of respect accordingly.  For your report to conclude that the government is not doing enough to prevent obesity and binge drinking is therefore very damaging.

My stance on this issue appears to be very much in line with yours.  Personal freedom in terms of freedom of choice is very important and our government has ignored it.  Labour’s obsession with central control and telling people, councils, organisations and businesses how to spend their money is not helpful.  I am happy to let individuals choose their own path and make their own decisions, hence why I do not support Labour’s drive towards a ‘nanny state’.

That is not to say that I think freedom should be absolute.  I believe that people should be free to make their own choices, but some choices must have clear and unambiguous consequences.  For example, I believe that people should be allowed to choose to smoke cigarettes, but should they make that choice they must also accept the consequences e.g. having to contribute towards the cost of any health services used as a direct result of smoking.  This is why I support your notion of ’stewardship’ as a new form of government intervention, which ‘guides’ people into making the right choices in terms of health and lifestyle but does not prevent them from making mistakes.  Banning junk food advertising would therefore not be acceptable as it is trying to prevent a particular choice being made, whereas heavily taxing unhealthy food still allows individuals to make mistakes but they must also accept the financial consequences of doing so (which would help pay for their subsequent healthcare).

I hope your report is taken on board by the government.  Some of it will spark debate and controversy but this is nothing to be concerned about.  Unlike the nanny state, ’stewardship’ protects freedom whilst protecting society - which is why it should form the basis of government actions.

Yours respectfully,

A.Tory