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IRELAND COULD BE on track to become the fattest country in Europe by 2030 if urgent action isn’t taken.
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) has issued this warning as part of its pre-budget submission.
It is calling for a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, more resources for research and more action to be taken to tackle childhood obesity.
The obesity figures cited by the RCPI come from the World Health Organisation. The RCPI has said that it is aware that one in four children in Ireland is classified as overweight or obese.
Speaking about the proposal, the RCPI’s chair of its policy group on obesity, Prof Donal O’Shea, said, “The Government, like the food and drinks industry, is happy to talk about personal responsibility and choice.
This is no longer good enough when we know that the environment is responsible for a major part of the problem.
In its submission the body has called on the government to place tougher controls on obesity, tobacco and alcohol.
Speaking about this, Prof Frank Murray, president of the RCPI, said that legislative action taken by the government, specifically in the area of alcohol abuse, had the potential to save lives.
“Targeted evidence-based measures introduced by Government initiatives have been successfully shown to save lives and reduce harm,” he said.
Our hospitals are overcrowded, a problem exacerbated by the fact that at least 1,500 hospital beds are taken up every night as a result of alcohol.
The group encouraged all politicians to support the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill to allow it to become legislation during the lifetime of the current Dáil.
One of the key measures included in the bill is setting a minimum pricing for alcohol units, which it is hoped would combat alcohol abuse.
The group is also calling for further increases to excise duty on cigarettes and VAT to be removed or reduced on nicotine replacement patches.
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The vote on Friday will merely determine whether or not womdn CHOOSING an abortion will continue to be restricted to unsafe, unsupervised abortions or will have a path to safe, supervised abortions.
Vote Yes to trust women and not needlessly endanger their lives
Very Sad , People have become so selfish
@Elvis Polkasalad: Yeah, dem selfish women having notions about their bodily autonomy…
* wimmin
@The Risen: Bodily autonomy is a joke. Nobody has bodily autonomy, someone gets cancer try saying i am exercising my bodily autonomy cancer please go! We are at war and men mainly have to defend the country. Try saying no my bodily autonomy means I dont have to defend the country, you would probably be shot. If a woman has sex she is partly giving up bodily autonomy i.e. if she gets pregnant, sorry then there are two bodies and two lives not one. While the woman’s life will be given priority in a life or death situation there are still two lives and it is plain wrong for a mother to snuff out the life of her child in any circumstances. Vote no to this vile law which Harris is proposing to replace the 8th. The 8th is our law and we should not give up our rights to set law in life or death situations.
@Jeremy DeChad: if someone had cancer, they can choose to have chemotherapy to get rid of it. Silly argument
@Jenni Harrison: yes but it may or may not cure you. Your “bodily autonomy” cannot be used to force the cancer to leave your body. Hope thay is helpful for you.
@Jeremy DeChad: I don’t think you comprehend the meaning!
Bodily autonomy means a person has control or choice over whom or what uses their body, for what, and for how long. It’s why you can’t be forced to donate blood, tissue, or organs. Even if you are dead.
The risen is using the phrase correctly. You are not
@Jenni Harrison: that is your opinion about what bodily autonomy means but of course you are wrong. Think of this when a woman is pregnant it is no longer just her and her body that actually exists. There is a second body occupying the same space and one which she has played a part in creating. The question that we need to consider is whether she has a right to destroy the other life / body. The 8th aims to say no. Keep the 8th vote no.
@Jeremy DeChad: Fair play to ya mansplaining bodily autonomy to the wimmins.
Cheer for the extra votes you just sent to the Yes side.
@Jeremy DeChad: There are many situations where a woman has not played a part. A fetus is not a body so there is no second body involved. Bodily autonomy means having control over what your body is used for, who or what uses it and what you decide or decide not to do with it. Even though I’m a yes voter I have tried to see this from the no perspective but still haven’t seen a single argument to change my mind. I am a man and I don’t feel like I have any right to tell a woman dealing with a crisis pregnancy what to do. If you vote no, and I respect your choice to do that, I can’t get my head around how aggressive you’re being. If this was a simple issue there’d be no argument. It’s not black or white and you can make an argument without being aggressive or disrespectful.
@Costello Brendan: haven’t a clue what you mean by “aggressive” I am not the one who referred to anyone as silly. Fetus means offspring another word for child and is a separate developing body that is dependant on its mother but should not be subject to being killed by her.
Questions ?
When does a life begin biologically ?
Who has the right to determine a cut off point for protection under the constitution?
Why did we swap one (catholic) orthodoxy for another (left wing) orthodoxy which is less tolerant of diverse opinions and constantly pursuing agenda ?
Why do we send people afflicted with trauma (sympathy expressed) to Dublin to run things like heath care (Brid Smith) foreign affairs (Colm OGorman) and housing( Boyd Barrett) ?
In the event of a ‘yes’ vote, the electorate will wake up on Sunday to a different society where the protection of the law in ending life is no longer an absolute. The Oireachtas report is exclusively biased towards those who see only one life in a pregnancy but also do not see the law is diminished in such a way that it now becomes something more than an entitlement vehicle but those who engage in criminal activity discovers the law no longer acts as a protector of life on this island. Other countries can only live uncomfortably with the dilution of law and order as a protector of life and the medical community that tries their best to save lives so advocacy groups can influence politicians to their section of the electorate.
The vote is a swindle in that the Government has done everything to avoid asking the electorate the 12 week/no reason question because it doesn’t trust the electorate to give them the answer they and the advocacy groups desperately seek.
M”"RDER, plain and simple, VOTE NO.
@Brian Rutledge: mqrder? Mzrder? I give up, what is it?
Is it just me or is Isobel a nailed on yes voter?
Obviously it’s not the final say, there is no final say. The constitution serves the people, not the other way around. It can and should be amended to reflect the will of the majority. As the set of people, “majority”, changes on every issue over time there may be a need to revisit any issue at a given point. Just common sense, isn’t it?
At the risk of looking silly, what was the law before 1983? I’m assuming it was the same except it was done through legislation rather than the constitution?
Same advice as every referendum.
Either way it’s not the final say on the matter as in 35 years time people who were ineligible to vote in this referendum will be given their chance to vote on the 8th Amendment.
2053
2088
Next 2 referenda on the 8th.
Be sure to remain on the register.
have your say