Health Fashism

Today my daughter and I received what over breakfast appeared to be an innocent questionnaire from Smallbrook Surgery about smoking. Well that was the point stressed but they also wanted to know (politely) about how much I drink and how fat I am. Oh by the way Smallbrain, not everyone understands what BMI means - call us thick but only two out of six were able to answer that one in short order.

Back to the main case; well smoking has had the skids under it for some time and we all know that smokers in public places are condemned to outside leper colonies in dark corners of pub's and restaurants'. Job done say the smug media health commentators and the zealots!

Having answered the questions about smoking, which will only confirm what they already know from a myriad of research projects on the incidence of smoking, I almost found myself, with that same lowered shopping inhibition that has Mr Morrison's putting the booze at the end of their store, answering their darned questions.

Hang on, is this for my good or my daughter's? No, it is Smallpiece who are lining their already no doubt fat medical pockets for collecting the data. Oh yes, they are exceedingly well fed with a doctors daily rate of £400-£500. Don't the rest of us just wish!

If Smallheart are being required to collect the data and, as we can all agree, smoking stats are well known, what are the real reasons for this intrusive questionnaire? Yes you guessed it - it's the fat and the boozers who are the next target of the health fascists in the Government and the NHS. We have all heard of the outrageous proposals to exclude or make the drinker and members of the tubby club pay for their treatment. 

This puts President Obama's attempts to get health care for millions of excluded Americans into a frankly alarming context. We have been shaking our heads in puzzlement at their seemingly incomprehensible and reactionary response to what seems to be a common sense solution that has on the whole served us well?. But hell, maybe they have a point, all be it expressed in some colourful language; isn't our vaunted NHS and Smallwipe Surgery taking us down that road as well?

Back to the human side of the story; did I answer, well yes! Smalltime apparently have a middle aged and grumpy man who weighs very very little but has ticks in every drink box and a daughter that at has a daily consumption rate of 10+ units (the maximum one could confess). Yes immature and silly but there is little else, certainly not intellectual argument, that can impact on an overbearing Government of whom poor old Smallbrook are just a servant.; Shouldn't they be servants to us in Warminster and not the servants of a prying and an increasingly healt fascist central government?