Trash radio - medical/health cons, charity fail

Last week:

Between midday and 2pm on Thursday or Friday yammering away on ABC... the evils of vaccination. MMR and Autism, there was a representative moron liar from the "vaccines are poison" mob and there was a doctor, who was a real GP with a practise who couldn't stay on the phone for a long time chatting or answering questions because he actually had patients to look after... And the callers. Oh. My. God. Someone phoned in and asked about the preservative in vaccines... the doc had gone by then and the anti vaccination idiot said "mercury", not the real story, though, is it?

Arrgh. It makes me so ANGRY! For facts, hop on over to Respectful Insolence, link in "Who's updating?" on the left here.

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This week:

Feb-Fast... a charity which encourages abstinance from alcohol for the month of February. They donate to known charities which support people/teens with drug dependency problems. That's good. The when the spokesperson is on the radio telling us that we need not fear teetotalling at parties or when we are out, and how alcohol is such a huge part of our lives, and how much fun you can have sober, and how some people who don't drink feel ostracised because of the attitde of others with them who do, and how she doesn't drink any more (or now in very severe moderation due to health reasons) and she made a point of talking about the alcoholism at parties... WOOT???!!????11!!eleventyeleven!!

Way to go, girl. Accuse everyone who has an occasional or social drink of being an alcoholic. That's sure going to get support for your cause.

I think the interviewee was Sarah Wilson.

It really made me cranky.

I might ensure that I have a drink a night through Feb (of course, that will probably make me an alcoholic - and if I have more than three one night a week (or two), that'd make me a binge drinker.

Sarah, you may have had to give up the grog because you were becoming an alcoholic, but assume people are alcoholics because they like a social drink. When the Blairites gather I have to drive, and I find that three drinks from 5pm to 10 or later is enough, with soda in between... works for me.

Hey, and you know something? You can even get an indulgence if you need to attend a social function.... a "Time Out Certificate" for $25.

FOAD!

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Talking about medical and health cons, on TV, adverts for "cleansing diets" and vitamin supplements to "detox" - Dr John Tickell. He's a doctor, for God's sake, and he's selling this shit? He should be ashamed!

GRRRRR!

Who is responsible? II

Remember this?

A piece at Skepticlawyer regarding the finding of the High Court.

Update:

Having read Skepticlawyer's piece, and then reading the letter in The Weekend Australian this weekend... I despair!

Read the letter for yourself.

A Professor of Health Sciences at UQ says:

Surely hotel owners need to take some responsibility for their actions in selling a product that in moderation can be very pleasant but in excess is one of the major causes of death and injury in this country, whether you consider road trauma or domestic violence let alone other diseases related to excessive alcohol consumption. Surely some acknowledgment of shared responsibility is the way to proceed.

Click the link, read all the letter.

No more than two alcoholic drinks per day

Oh, for heaven's sake!

They've done another survey...

No more than two standard alcoholic drinks per day, women will avoid the greater risk of alcohol-related diseases and men will avoid having alcohol-related accidents.

On special occasions you can have, wait for it, up to four alcoholic drinks. You can not save up all your drinks and have them at once... nooooo.

Now, I remember that if you had a couple of alcoholic drinks per day you were considered to be an alcoholic. If you only had several drinks say on the weekend, well, then you were a binge drinker. I wish they'd make up their minds!

They make out like everyone's a raving alcoholic or something.

The transcript should be here soon.