tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post5645192191281957242..comments2023-10-17T15:56:22.827+01:00Comments on Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: Seven supposed mythsChristopher Snowdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963753745009712865noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-28762342227903933412013-09-27T16:26:04.842+01:002013-09-27T16:26:04.842+01:00Ian,
then maybe you should be pleased that some pe...Ian,<br />then maybe you should be pleased that some people are keeping you in employment, yes?Bald headed Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06520103188104671513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-38498863430135107972013-09-26T20:18:21.529+01:002013-09-26T20:18:21.529+01:00Dr. Nutt's book is well worth the read. I don...Dr. Nutt's book is well worth the read. I don't think that you have captured his position on banning alcohol quite clearly. From the book: "I drink myself and enjoy it." and "Banning alcohol outright would be an extreme and probably counterproductive measure"<br /><br />As an emergency physician, I certainly do see the same faces time and again, but I see far too many new faces from alcohol too, the drunk and now raped grad party girl, the two workers who went off the road on their way home after stopping at the pub, new atrial fibrillation from overdoing it on the weekend. I've worked in many different emergency departments over the years, even in heavy IVDU areas, but it's always alcohol that keeps me busy during the night shift.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12370522728048169277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-85243712249597561742013-09-26T19:05:51.954+01:002013-09-26T19:05:51.954+01:00Will,
Thanks for your comments. Of course I accep...Will,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments. Of course I accept that margarine competes with butter but I would see both as being in the same product category of dairy spreads. Similarly, cider competes against beer in the alcohol category.<br /><br />"There is no fixed demand for alcohol that different brands/products are competing for."<br /><br />That's just an assertion, isn't it? I mean, sure, alcohol consumption goes up and down but is that led by advertising? I really doubt it. As I said in the post, consumption's been going down for the last ten years - has advertising also been falling? Spirits consumption has been falling for 150 years but spirits are still quite heavily advertised. Wine, on the other hand, has been the big growth segment in the last 30 years and it is advertised very little.<br /><br />The public health lobby needs many economics lessons, but there are two things it particularly needs to get its head around. 1. The alcohol industry is not a monolithic entity but is made of fierce rivals. 2. These firms can easily make more money in a declining or static market.<br />Christopher Snowdonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15963753745009712865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-87229956001607896402013-09-26T16:10:30.302+01:002013-09-26T16:10:30.302+01:00Will,
I see you have a phd in looking at binge dri...Will,<br />I see you have a phd in looking at binge drinking.<br />The amount of binge drinking I have done in my life I think I deserve one too.<br />Problem is the University of Pubs doesn't hand them out. ;-)Fredrik Eichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08442979299648454852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-40854039301199214832013-09-26T15:57:02.563+01:002013-09-26T15:57:02.563+01:00Hi Chris. Two points.
1. Advertising
Although so...Hi Chris. Two points.<br /><br />1. Advertising<br />Although some claims can be simplistic in viewing advertising as mind-control, as you know I think you go too far in the opposite direction when in fact the reality is somewhere in between.<br /><br />We know that culture contributes to people's desires, and advertising contributes to that. Plenty of ads are not about brand switching, and this is particularly the case when you think of household budgets as a whole. People balance spending on one margarine brand not just against another, but also against butter, and as part of an overall budget that will affect what sort of other products they buy. I'm not sure how much of a Jam fan you are, but it is a big decision whether to cut down on beer or the kids' new gear - or for that matter any other spend. There is no fixed demand for alcohol that different brands/products are competing for.<br /><br />Also, I think public health people have a point when they view marketing campaigns as pissing in the wind against the budgets of major alcohol producers.<br /><br />However, I do quite like your idea of an informed, choosing public (it's perfectly acceptable to know the risks of consuming alcohol and then go ahead anyway) but advertising doesn't aim to provide 'perfect information' so much as a 'buzz' around the product. Then we get into a discussion of pesky concepts like rationality, desire etc.<br /><br />2. On 'working together' you're being a bit facetious, though you're quite right that on what's actually written there the 'myth' is not busted. There is a genuine debate to be had on this, and also voluntary codes are not the only way of 'working together'; you could work with all partners round the table and come up with an alternative such as mandatory codes. (Of course, the responsibility deal for whatever reason doesn't actually feature all stakeholders, so...)Will Haydockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623145846257433457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3585028625507474093.post-81890376385784866542013-09-26T13:30:54.845+01:002013-09-26T13:30:54.845+01:00Add to your list of things to not like about Nutt,...Add to your list of things to not like about Nutt, his recent claims that smokeless tobacco is 17% as harmful as smoking. Of course the main problem with that it that it is that more than an order of magnitude higher than the actual scientific estimate. But also consider the utterly silly claim precision: No, not 15%, not 20%, but 17%.Carl V Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01919902852457771666noreply@blogger.com