Thursday 18 April 2013

Non-sequitur of the day

From the Irish Examiner...

“With 72,000 babies born each year, our country now functions as a conveyor belt producing very heavy drinkers...

Heavy drinking is caused by high birth rates, then? I would have thought the relationship worked the other way, but still...

This bafflingly incoherent statement is part of the temperance lobby's latest attempt to ban alcohol sponsorship. Taking a leaf out of the anti-smokers' book (quelle surprise), they have noticed that most people do not wait until they're 18 years old before taking their first drink. Perhaps they will soon be describing alcoholism as a 'pediatric disease'?

The press release is full of gems that can most charitably described as 'creative logic'...

"Because these children are going to grow up to be among the heaviest drinkers on earth by the time they are 20 years old, it is they who are the real targets of alcohol advertising and sponsorship."


Yes, why target people who are actually drinkers when you can target people who might one day become drinkers but who are legally prohibited from buying your product?

“While common sense tells us that sponsorship promotes consumption, with typical arrogance the alcohol Industry, and those in receipt of its money, demand that we provide them with evidence that it does."

The nerve!


2 comments:

Ivan D said...

Can we not find somewhere really inhospitable that just about supports life and send the people who promote this kind of thing there?

They would then spend their days regulating each other and leave the rest of us alone.

Anonymous said...

Ivan, I suggest we send the teetotallers to Saudi Arabia or Iran, that seems appropriate.