Scotland's sockpuppet state

From the BBC...

Children are exposed to "unacceptably high levels" of alcohol marketing through sports sponsorship and public adverts, according to a report.

Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) said there was "clear evidence" that exposure to alcohol marketing led children to start drinking at a younger age.

It has called for the Scottish government to take action.

Alcohol Focus Group is a sockpuppet of the Scottish government which has gathered together a group of the country's most fanatical 'public health' teeth-grinders, including Gerard Hastings, to push the SNP to do something that the SNP would love to do. The Scottish health secretary said last year...

“This government has made it clear we believe the UK Government should do more to protect our children from exposure to alcohol advertising in all its forms which is why we established a wider review of alcohol advertising.”

The press release for this wafer-thin report even came with a supportive quote from a government official. This is blatant sockpuppetry and I've written about it today for Spiked...

 The charade works like this. The government finds (or creates) a charity, lavishes it with taxpayers’ money and encourages it to lobby for taxes and regulation. After a few years of astro-turf campaigning by state-funded activists, the government passes laws which punish, stigmatise and exploit its citizens while claiming to be capitulating to the demands of civil society.

Do read the whole article.