Watching Your Choices, From Cradle To Grave

This week's creepiest 'public health' initiative comes to you from Ireland.

Information about people’s lifestyle choices, socio-economic status and whether they are smokers could be recorded in the new health identifier number to be given to every person in the State, the Irish Cancer Society has suggested.

Yes, it is extremely important that smokers are identified at every opportunity. Here's an idea! How about giving them something yellow to wear or something, I dunno.

The individual health identifier (IHI) will be a unique number, separate to a PPS number, which will be used to trace people through every part of the health system from cradle to grave.

Nope, nothing Orwellian about that is there?

“The health identifier provides an opportunity to record not only data that identifies the individual, but also information relating to their health and social status and lifestyle choices – ie. smoking status, diet, socio-economic status. The society will be calling on the Department of Health to broaden out the data recorded under the health identifier to include some of these elements, amongst others,” it said.

Amongst others, of course. Because every possible opportunity to nag you into submission - whichever your freely chosen vice - must be exploited, remember that. It's what a caring state should try to do.

OK, there may be concerns about privacy, but who cares? It's for your own good, Ireland! So happy for y'all over there.

Good grief!