Friday, January 4, 2008

The European "Nanny" State

This Is also starting to occur In America slowly. And they
said Communism died with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Europeans chafe under New Year
'nanny state' laws



Europe started 2008 with a raft of new laws against
smoking, air pollution and even junk food adverts, but
some grumbled that the New Year's resolutions from the
"nanny state" cramped their style.

Germany, France and Portugal joined many of their
neighbours with anti-smoking bans in bars, restaurants
and cafes from January 1, lifting the grey haze that was
part of their romantic atmosphere for more than a century.

In car-crazy Germany, drivers in major cities including the
capital Berlin faced restrictions barring smog-producing
vehicles from their centres while the northern Italian city
of Milan imposed tolls on the heaviest polluters.

And Britain cracked down on television commercials for food
and drink products heavy in fat, salt and sugar that target
children under the age of 16 in a bid to curb obesity.

While many accepted the new rules as reasonable measures in
the name of public health, some bristled at what they called
the state's overreach and the creeping end of the European
way of life.

"I will not let anyone stop me from smoking at my own
business," Ali, owner of the Westend Pinte bar in Berlin, told
Germany's mass-market Bild newspaper.

"I've been smoking 40 cigarettes a day since I was
12 -- I can't quit now."

Anne Cicek, manager of the Bier Bar in east Berlin, told the
daily Berliner Zeitung that she would defy the rules: "We are
not little children who need to be told what we cannot do."

Continues:

http://www.breitbart.com

No comments: