Trans-Fats and NICE

Trans-Fats are bad for us apparently. So what? We are aware of the kinds of foods that contain them and can make a judgement about whether to consume such products. I do, on occasion, although not regularly. I haven’t died yet – clue; if I had, I wouldn’t be typing this, now, would I?

Still, that’s not good enough for the bansturbators at NICE:

Trans-fats should be eliminated from food in England, NHS watchdog NICE has said.

The artificial fats are often found in biscuits, cakes and fast food – but they can damage health.

NICE is also pressing for further reductions in salt and saturated fats, to help prevent deaths from cardiovascular disease.

I was under the impression that NICE’s remit was setting standards in the NHS, not deciding what we may eat. Still, quangos being quangos, they are always willing to adapt and expand their remit into pastures new. Never mind that it’s none of their business, they do it anyway. One thing Georgie boy should have done today was slash and burn all the quangos and fake charities – it would save millions and save us all the hectoring, lecturing nannying that we have come to expect from the bloated state apparatus.

My diet and the ingredients contained therein are none of NICE’s business and I object to them lying in order to get their way, too.

Experts who worked on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines say 40,000 of the 150,000 annual deaths are “eminently preventable”.

They believe that reducing salt and saturated fats, as well as banning trans-fats, would save the NHS more than £1bn.

Maybe so, maybe not. It’s guesswork anyway. And, frankly, none of their concern. I’m inclined to agree with Mark Wadsworth here.

Particular galling was/is:

1. The way in which ‘Professor’ Mike Kelly saw himself as part of the proud tradition of ‘public health’ in this country – he mentioned the Victorians cleaning up the water supplies to prevent cholera etc and the clean air acts of the post-war period (all good stuff, that is truly public health – where there is nothing that any individual can do about it) before slipping in the smoking ban, which he claimed had reduced the number of heart attacks (whether to smoke or not is a personal decision, ergo is not a ‘public health’ issue), and then saying that the crowning achievement of all this was inventing new rules on what ingredients food manufaturers are allowed to use (perhaps they are unhealthy, what do I know, but again, this is not a ‘public health’ issue and none of his f***ing business).

Quite right; it is not a public health issue and Professor Kelly is indulging in rampant hubris in likening himself to the pioneers of previous eras who really did carry out ground breaking work in public health. Kelly and his ilk are not ground breakers, they are nasty little statist bullies, nothing more, nothing less. Sack them, sack them all.

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Update: It seems that HMG agrees with me.

But the government reaction was unenthusiastic, implying that it was up to the individual to make healthy choices.

Bloody right too! I may be critical of the LibCons – particularly in that they are not doing enough to cut back the state, but it’s nice to see NICE being told to sod off. Now scrap the bastards and finish the job.