Most things we do, like eating and exercising, are necessary for our lives, or at least our well being — unless we overdo it. All things in moderation is the key.
The latest suggestion for encouraging moderation when imbibing alcoholic drinks is to put labels on the beverage bottles warning that overuse of the contents can cause cancer.
Label warnings have been on tobacco products for years. People still smoke but the labels let them know the consequences.
It’s hard to argue against warning labels on liquor containers, they are unlikely to bankrupt the liquor industry and they surely shouldn’t offend too many people, but the issue with alcohol abuse isn’t only the health risk, it creates social problems too.
Should a warning about that be included on the label?
But, while warning labels don’t do much harm, how much good do they do? Endangering our health is a personal choice.
The suggestion to limit the number of drinks to one or two a week seems to be overly moderate. That one probably won’t fly far.
A Saanich city councillor wants to have traffic fines match the offenders’ income. The argument for the change is that the current set fines may be a deterrent to a low income person, but don’t mean much to a wealthier offender although both committed the same offense. The idea is that the fines should hurt no matter how deep the pockets of the wealthy. A number of European countries have this system.
Councillor Teale Phelps Bonderoff wants Saanich council to ask the Union of BC Municipalities to consider asking the provincial Ministry of Transport to make the change. If UBCM agrees to the request, our council will have a vote on the issue. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Diana French is a former Tribune editor and book author.
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