Nanny Mentality or Rich Folks' Agenda?

The EU is to ban the over-the-counter sale of hundreds of herbal remedies, thereby hitting the many small health shop businesses that specialise in such products. They say it’s because of concern over the possible harmful side effects. Really? If there’s one thing I’ve been hearing time and time again over the last few years, it’s been people complaining about the harmful side effects of ‘official’ medications prescribed by doctors. And isn’t it, to say the least, ironic that tobacco and alcohol are allowed to be sold openly to people over the age of majority? Don’t they have possible harmful side effects, too?

Well, of course, there are two main reasons why there’s no ban on selling tobacco and alcohol:

1) They’re both bound up with massive, worldwide industries, and so any such ban would have unacceptable economic consequences.

2) There’s a limit to how far any government should go – especially an elected one in a supposed democracy – in legislating against personal freedoms. In fact, it could reasonably be argued that they shouldn't be doing it at all.

So how do these two principles relate to the EU’s latest bit of nonsense?

Firstly, the precursor of the EU, the body originally known as the Common Market, was set up purely to harmonise trade between the member nations. It didn’t, and still doesn’t in my opinion, have any mandate to legislate against personal, practical freedoms. So could it be that there is an economic agenda involved after all? Could it be that it’s all about putting even more wealth into the bottomless pockets of the pharmaceuticals industry?

Can anybody tell me why the so-called developed world is getting sillier and sillier, or possibly more and more dishonest? Or both.