Mike Daube has made his career on telling you and your governments that you're too stupid to make your own choices. Mike Daube wants you to know that tobacco companies and alcohol companies are evil. If you ever had any doubt that alcohol is next on the list for the nannies, then you only need to read almost everything this guy has written. He's quite happy to use the tobacco control template to protect the young, gullible children in the world. Here's a fine passage from this editorial he wrote for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health:
Tobacco is now recognised as a pariah industry. Descriptions such as ‘evil’ and ‘merchants of death’ are commonplace; it is the world’s least reputable industry and there is broad acceptance of the principle that governmental dealings with tobacco companies should occur only if unavoidable and while holding one’s nose.
Millions of tobacco industry documents accessible following the US Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) show that the companies are even more cynical and dishonest than their critics had thought. Nobody could now argue credibly that tobacco companies should be part of policy-making processes, can be trusted with voluntary agreements on advertising, or should run public education programs.
The alcohol industry is different – or is it?
(2012 vol. 36 no. 2, pp108-110)
Read the whole thing above. It's short. Only a few pages of drivel, I promise.
Let's peek a little more into the life of this particular neo-puritanical, soft-spoken tyrant. ABC News Australia writes this about him:
Mike Daube is Professor of Health Policy at Curtin University, where he is Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute and the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth. [...] He recently completed two terms as President of the Public Health Association of Australia, and is President of the WA Branch and convenor of the Alcohol Special Interest Group. From 2001-05 he was Western Australia's first Director General of Health and Chair of the National Public Health Partnership. Since moving to WA in 1984 he has held a number of chief executive and senior positions in government and NGOs. Before this he was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine at Edinburgh University, and described editorially in the British Medical Journal as "probably Britain's leading health campaigner."
Now, pretty much every piece ABC Australia does on smoking and health is written by the antis for the antis. You almost never see ABC offer up a contrary view in rebuttal -- they do occasionally, but not often enough; sometimes they surprise you. Think what you like, but the Australian media is so far up the asses of Chapman and Daube, that it's no wonder that the Australian public have believed all of the bullshit and wants the government to the nanny them (no different than the UK or US media, I suppose). This has taken years of campaigning by people like Daube to make happen. Look at this gem from Daube on ABC's site:
Big Tobacco will fight any action that might reduce its profits, and even here in Australia, where so much has been achieved, we must ensure that there is continuing action. One might in retrospect wonder why it all took so long - why did Cancer Councils, the Heart Foundation, the AMA and other health organisations have to campaign for so long? Why did governments not even respond to far-sighted calls to protect children in enclosed spaces such as cars as soon as the evidence on the dangers of passive smoking came through? If we have learned one crucial lesson it is that we cannot afford any sense of complacency: smoking is still our biggest preventable killer.
We need further developments to maintain the momentum, and to ensure that there is a continuing focus on disadvantaged groups. There are also of course other challenges for prevention - notably alcohol and obesity, although these will require some different approaches and a judicious mix of carrots and sticks.
Don't worry, ABC is happy to give the health nazis some momentum. Look at this recent article. Do you see any contrary views at all?
So where was I? Right. Daube. What a dick. Below is an excerpt from his own pet newsletter where he writes about how to target children to socially engineer them into believing all of his bullshit. And you thought tobacco companies were targeting kids with shiny artwork on cigarette packs. Please. These fuckers are the kid-targeters. These are the evil fucking bastards in the modern era. Parents are too stupid to raise their own children. Do not forget that.
The target audience
Initial plans are to target the young, web-savvy population of WA. This group of Western Australian’s are regularly online: 72% go online to send and receive emails, 60% want internet access anywhere, anytime and 50% believe that technology gives them control over their life. Such research indicates this group is receptive to an online social change campaign that places the emphasis on the audience.
Now ask yourself, who during WWII targeted children. Eh? And check out this video, which at the time of this writing has only 33 views -- four of which are probably mine.
He seems so nice, doesn't he? Don't believe it, fatties. He's coming for you, too. This man really hates everyone and everything that isn't the picture of perfect health. Does Oz really need an institute for advocacy? Christ on a bike, no wonder it's all gone tits up down under.
