… in the current economic crisis, it kind of seems silly to speak out against government intervention, but this is not about economics. It is about rights & choices, and Mr. Ramdoss is beginning to get serious delusions of grandeur.

“On weekends in cities like Bangalore and Chennai even women are going on smoking and drinking binge. It’s a dangerous trend. We’ll have to intervene and regulate the system,” and Alcohol consumption poses a grave threat to India, the nation with 600 million people less than 30 years of age,
“The Constitution mandates all states to exercise prohibition but except J&K and Gujarat none of the states follow it. Prohibition is a state subject, I would urge all state governments to enforce to total prohibition.”

i remember voting for a Government 5 years ago, not choose parents or life long guardians.

After Smoking and Alcohol let us take a look at all the other things that can Mr.Ramdoss can regulate in India, to protect our ‘health’ :

a) sex – if you didn’t have sex you won’t get AIDS, or increase population or become anemic through repeated child birth. let’s regulate sex
child birth – if you aren’t born, you won’t get diseases ! and, the woman delivering the baby will not have possible health related issues….
red meat – associated with thickening of arteries, cholestrol , and god knows what else (tape worm>). let’s regulate !
food, -Let’s face it, most desi’s get into trouble because of the ghee and sweets that they have; the meat and the fish that they have; the milk and the nuts that they have ( i am severely allergic to peanuts). Other desi’s get into health trouble because of the food that they don’t eat. Let us regulate food, and send daily receipes to every household to enusre that the remain in good health.
Cars – pollution leading to mass breathing difficulties, asthma, let’s regulate vehicles
Industry – see above
work – i have been seeing a spate of articles on stress caused by work. maybe we ought to regulate work. people have to be in at 9, have to clock out at 5 and have a compulsory one hour break
religion – seriously damages health. look at Orissa, Kerala, Dhule, Delhi …
Men afterall,

Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon. So widespread that, globally, women aged 15 to 44 are more likely to be maimed or die as a result of male violence than through cancer, malaria, traffic accidents or war together.

pretty soon, everyone & everything will be regulated.
do add to this list of things that Mr.Ramdoss can regulate !

and, while we are compiling the list, Mr.Ramdoss can take his eyes away from the urban middle class who are smoking and drinking in weekend binges – but who have private health plans – and look at the rest of India – most people don’t get one square meal a day – and are more dependent on public health systems – may be sorting that out can be a better way of improving health in India…. If he doesn’t want to look at the rest of India and just focus his attention on cities – then maybe improving the government hospital system within the country would be a good start.

If Mr.Ramdoss is interested in health, maybe then he should stop grandstanding and start addressing issues !

10 thoughts on “The State as Nanny….

  1. Harini, my addition to the list.

    Regulate blogging! To avoid dangers such as;

    The wives telling the world what they really think of their men.
    Our children blogging about the violence at home.
    Our girls announcing that they are victims of abuse in the safety of their own home.
    Our revered scientists blogging about fudging data.
    Our policemen blogging their torture methodology.
    And so much more…….

  2. I had always had this thought about the man. I blogged about it once when he was fresh with banning junk foods in colleges. He needs to get a real job. I think politicians job is probably too boring for him.

    I would add:
    Driving – To prevent all road accidents.

  3. >>look at the rest of India – most people don’t get one square meal a day – and are more dependent on public health systems – may be sorting that out can be a better way of improving health in India…. If he doesn’t want to look at the rest of India and just focus his attention on cities

    he is pretty much consistent on prohibition, regardless of the class divide. here in his home state his party’s public policy is shutting down the state run tasmac liquor shops and he uses his private tv channel for prohibition propaganda (a mixture of scare tactics and bullying)

    >>but who have private health plans
    i dont agree with the whole prohibition thing, but do you seriously think, the 2/4 lakh a year plan most of us would cover cancer treatment?.. after a couple of years of chemo/rad therapy most of us with a typical medical cover would end up in a govt hospital

  4. @ anu – good one. also regulate the media ….
    @ dinesh – taking on macdonald’s makes for more headlines than taking on a screwed PDS that doesn’t deliver the promised nutrition level to millions of Indians
    @ bala -women and men who go binge drinking and smoking over the weekend – i know people like that — they won’t know a government hospital if it hit them on the head… he needs to make people aware of the dangers of abusive use of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs … but this is not the way. blanket bans based on his ‘fundamentalist views on health’ is not the way to run a government.
    @ Prasanth — every idiocy has a silver lining 🙂
    @rada – thank you 🙂

  5. >>@ bala -women and men who go binge drinking and smoking over the weekend – i know people like that — they won’t know a government hospital if it hit them on the head…

    i think you are wrong here. the cost of cancer treatment runs into tens of lakhs. a single dose of chemotherapy costs upto 5 lakhs and a patient needs to have them till remission or death.

    the general health cover – be it corporate or individual doesnt cover such kind of cost. and most of the “private health plans” you mention do not cover cancer under one pretext or another. They always find a way to reject claims with heavy costs like cancer treatment.
    Reasons for

    so to sum up – a lot of the people you know, who go clubbing or pubbing or whatever, if they get cancer from smoking , will end up in a govt hospital or getting subsidised drugs. The state does pick up the tab for such things.

    ramadoss’s rationale is since state is going to pick up the tab, let me stop it in the beginning.
    he is extending the same logic applied to drugs like cocaine to tobacco as well. if you ignore the whole moral policing angle, it does seem he has a sorta point there

  6. >>ramadoss’s rationale is since state is going to pick up the tab, let me stop it in the beginning. he is extending the same logic applied to drugs like cocaine to tobacco as well. if you ignore the whole moral policing angle, it does seem he has a sorta point there

    Bala, dont want to take up space on POV…..but I am curious about govt hospitals and cancer care, are you speaking from personal experience about cancer treatment? that is, timely therapy… called for in cancer? I do, and would like to compare experience ….in case you have ………

    Occupational cancer …………most fume filled professions in India are equally important causes of lung cancer…(asbestosis, fluorosis…..)…..does this logic extend………govt. picks tabs…so improve working conditions, impose stringent environmental laws? to save money on chemotherapy? But of course I am talking about ones without any health plans…..mine, quarry, construction workers, brick makers…etc etc…ones who will directly head to the govt hospitals………. I would root for a politician who takes on this, is consistent, regardless of the class divide, evolves policies that keep the industry running but with improved health environment. This is not as easy as shutting down small liquor vendors! 🙂 . We elect politicians not to bully and scare, but that they use their brains, their empathy, their extensive resources to improve things for us, in a rational manner, right?

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