It's just that Deborah Arnott's kneejerk response to criticism over plain packaging of tobacco is looking like becoming the most ill-judged public health pronouncement in history!
I know I mentioned it for the umpteenth time last week, but for new readers ...
"[...] The “domino theory” i.e. that once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products is patently false. The same argument was used against the ban on tobacco advertising, but 9 years after the tobacco ban in the UK, alcohol advertising is still permitted with no sign of it being prohibited."It doesn't get any less embarrassing for Debs. Now, even New Zealand is weighing in to make her look even more stupid than she probably feels for uttering such shite.
Health officials worried about an obesity epidemic want fast-food advertising dropped from public property, including bus shelters, and are questioning fast-food and soft-drink sponsorship of public events."Patently false" was the term I think Arnott used. That there is no way on Earth that "once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products".
Dr Toomath said advertising was a major environmental factor which could be changed. The paper to the board's public health committee described a "cityscape saturated in advertising" for high-calorie, low-nutrient food and sugary drinks.
She said reducing the chance to buy types of food was the initial step but moves on sponsorship could follow. Asked about Auckland City Hospital's Ronald McDonald House, she said sponsorship was powerful and its issues difficult.
"We've reached that purist approach with tobacco, completely hardline. There's no way in the world we would have a Rothman's Centre for Kids in Hospital. You start off saying we won't promote the sale of goods, then the next step is [not allowing] sponsorship of these companies."
Lucky for Arnott, then, that New Zealand anti-food tax spongers didn't refer to tobacco policy as a lead, eh?
Oh, hold on!
