At least I'm consistent

This was my first weekly column written for the Wairarapa Time-Age in January 1998. Below that is a copy of a letter I wrote to the same paper this week. In the intervening twenty years my opinions haven't changed much!

1984 came and went with a whimper. George Orwell’s dire predictions for that year never did materialise.

1998 isn’t shaping up quite so well. Big Brother’s first action was to deny tobacconists the right to have a sign above their doors advising what the shop actually sold. And New Year’s Eve saw revelers at Riversdale and Castlepoint denied the privilege of having a beer or something stronger on the beach to herald in the New Year. (Homeowners in adjacent-to-the beach sections however could imbibe as much as they liked, which puts a new spin on the expression private privilege versus public desire) 

Don’t think New Zealand alone has the “thought police” problem. As from January the first it was illegal to light up a cigarette in any bar in California. I feel for the hapless bar owners in that sunshine state who will now surely see their turnovers diminish and the receivers over the horizon. If you think about it, where better to have a drag than in a down town bar in the twilight atmosphere; a cold beer and a Cuban cigar, as you watch the Superbowl final?

Clamping down on smokers is the new prohibition yet strangely alcohol marketing is being given a free ride. Despite this alcohol still causes staggering devastation. It kills hundreds of New Zealanders a year, not only from disease but also from accidents. It creates huge economic losses and untold suffering. So too does tobacco of course, but alcohol is far more deadly than tobacco to innocent bystanders. A hard headed fact is that premature death from smoking usually occurs at the latter stages of an abusers life and is probably an economic boon to society. The money saved on pensions and health care probably far outweighs other costs incurred.

Police say that domestic violence is almost always fueled by alcohol; in N.Z. 41% of fatal road accidents are alcohol related and all ages are involved. Drunk driving kills toddlers, teenagers and whole families whereas tobacco strikes late; its victims have at least had a chance at life.

Cigarettes shortens lives, alcohol abuse can deprive people of it. Just think about it: if you knew your child was going to become addicted to either alcohol or tobacco, which one would you choose?

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not for one minute suggesting we impose the cigarette-style restrictions on alcohol. But I am curious to know why we as a society are so selective. Is the lobby of the liquor barons more powerful than their tobacco counterparts?

Despite the war against cigarettes I get the feeling that younger folk are smoking more than ever these days. Also Hollywood, which now operates in a suburb where smoking is not allowed in adjacent barrooms, seems to have its stars lighting up more than ever in the current crop of blockbusters. No doubt if you want to make something more popular give it a bad name.

What really concerns me is how many freedoms we have taken away from us each year by Orwellian legislators local and national. With the very best of intentions they may be choking us to death.