The British Government claims it wants to do more for our health.
There's the new
Change4Life campaign, encouraging us to eat less fat, take more exercise and live longer; and there are the perennial pushes to
give up smoking and (after they've extended the licensing hours and vastly increased the number of licensed outlets)
reduce alcohol consumption.
On the other hand, we have the prospect of the
State pension system hitting the buffers, thanks to millions of coffin-dodgers; not to mention the cost of care homes and the bed-blocker burden on the National Health Service. And if we all became totally abstemious, we would cost the State its £10 billion
annual revenue from tobacco, and £8 billion
from alcohol. At first sight, if you wanted to destroy the State, you'd follow its advice - a novel strategy of subversion by civil obedience.
Hence, tabloid-style contrarianism! I haven't found the evidence, but I expect that staying healthy (and working longer) will more than pay for itself, by reducing the costs of chronic ill-health and increasing revenue from taxes on income.