Over the last 15 years or so, a plethora of rules, laws and regulations have been introduced to restrict tobacco smoking in common areas. It is now virtually impossible to smoke in public.

All of this has been done in the name of protecting non-smokers from so-called environmental smoke(ETS)even though the evidence that ETS is hazardous is equivocal at best.

And now its alcohol's turn. Its been building overseas for some time and the new government is determined to catch up. They were no sooner in power than they were whining about the epidemic of binge drinking. Not once have they offered any data to support the claims that there is an epidemic or that youth drinking is any worse than it was, say, 5 years ago. No data, just claims and shouting down anyone who demurs.

Now we have the so-called alco-pop tax. The governments claims to be introducing the tax "for the good of the kids". although 90% are bought by adults. But there is no evidence that the tax will reduce the alcohol consumption of the teenagers. Indeed even the government assumes that the sales of these drinks will remain unchanged.

But that wasn't the point. The point is to increase taxes. And so the government can be seen to be doing something about a 'problem' that the activists have invented. Thirdly it is about letting one group, who disapproves of the activities of another group, penalise that second group. And finally it is about desensitising the populace to the idea of a war on alcohol to make the coming harsher measures easier to implement.

In Europe, it is now accepted that the elite can and do determine acceptable behaviour and then penalise those that don't conform to their 'lofty' lifestyles. It is clear that this government will not be able to stop itself from going down the same path. In Britain, on average, a law restricting personal freedoms is passed every four hours. We are headed down the same path.

First they came for the Jews.......

I would have thought it obvious.

This government, with the foresight and vision to have a populist "summit", clearly knows best what is good for all of us and of course, what is good for the younger element who decide, foolishly, to binge drink.

Far better you are taxed and the funds used to support say, recovering methamthetamine, heroin and cocaine addicts and unmarried women carrying in their wombs the next generation of tax payers, than leave you with, what must clearly be, more-than-sufficient disposable income available to squander on alcohol.

This way, fewer binge drinkers, potentially fewer drug addicts and better nourished children in one parent families.

Oh yes, all too obvious to argue with. Think of it this way, your self-inflicted alcoholic abuse is being curtailed to help others, less financially able than yourself, in the social support of the consequences of their own abuse / indulgences and all a result of this governments care, foresight and direction.

In the end, you might not live longer but it will certainly seem longer.

This is just the first sign of a Govt that is out of touch with it's people.In the Netherlands there is a movement to stop this big brother mentality.We are just copying their maladies.This present Labor Govt under Rudd is all show just like it's leader.

Rudd is a bureaucrat through and through.He lacks the fortitude and nous to make decisions based on common sense.Their colours are showing already,with immigrant policies based again on family reunions,low skills etc.

They have a plan for an extra million immigrants within a few yrs.Who will they vote for whilst driving down the wages of the very people who support them?

Modern Labor are disgusting creatures who will sell off anything to gain power.Just ask Mark Latham.

Come on how can you three swan around the tax impost over use of both brings via our health system?
Who pays for that? us that is who smoking is anti social and a health hazard for even a users own children and we all pay the medical bills.
Alcho pops? well we should never have let them on the market they look like soft drinks and thats to sell them, the tax will not stop binge drinking.
But while unwise it just may have been an attempt to slow binge drinking.
Interesting to clean up after a teenage party half full or even full bottles behind every shrub are found.
For some it seems they drink even if they do not like it.

Taxes should be used to a considerably greater extent to reduce the effects of alcohol in our society. Yes, the tax on alcopops will mostly drive people to use (abuse) other alcohol and drugs, but it is a whole lot better than doing nothing….if further steps are taken to mitigate this.

The really disgusting part about this is the espousal by our government of the huge windfall that this tax is likely to produce http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23717581-2702,00.html.
Well, if the windfall is huge, it automatically means that the tax isn’t working…surely!!

And if the windfall it predicted to be huge as part of the plan, then yes, there is something fundamentally wrong with the plan!

So, if most people continue to buy alcopops at the elevated prices, while others take up buying bottles of rum and scotch and the like, and others move into illicit drugs, then it seems as though this tax is a move in the wrong direction.

However, I will maintain that taxes should be used considerably more to regulate all sorts of bad behavior….in carefully thought-out ways….and not in ways that make you wonder whether the government is genuine about addressing a problem or has revenue-raising as their prime motive.

Belly “Come on how can you three swan around the tax impost over use of both brings via our health system?
Who pays for that?”

Now Belly, how can you possibly include me in your denunciation when I wrote “Think of it this way, your self-inflicted alcoholic abuse is being curtailed to help others,”

Maybe my sarcasm was obvious?

Who pays for our health system? I do. I have no choice. Regardless of what I want, by law I have to pay for it. So too the binge drinkers and they are entitled to use it.

Unless you are suggesting the system of tax all but only service the virtuous?

In which case, the unmarried mothers (far from ‘virtuous’ who get themselves banged up can pay for themselves, the junkies and the drunk drivers can bleed to death before they get a look in so too the morbidly obese.

“Alcho pops? well we should never have let them on the market they look like soft drinks and thats to sell them, the tax will not stop binge drinking.”

I regularly mix lemonade with vodka from big bottles. The result, the same as if I bought it premixed. “well we should never have let them” you cannot stop them, unless you are going to outlaw either alcohol, fizzy drinks or both.

I have one view on this and this is the real one, not what is written in my first piece of rank sarcasm:

Many people can use alcohol responsibly and they do not deserve to be slugged with extra taxes to top up a bloated budget surplus for the faux compassion of do-gooder socialists.

To fix the problem, address the cause, people devoid of self control or sense of reason. Increase the fines and punishments for drunk and disorderly conduct. Instead of molly-coddling the over-indulgent, give them a stomach pump and $2,000 nuisance fine but leave the price of alcohol alone for the benefit of theose who are responsible in its use.

As for teenage parties. Parents are the responsible individuals who should be fined too.