The Pros And Cons Of A Nanny State

There is always the conception that extensive rules and regulation which the Australia government placed among its citizens are slowly taking the personal freedoms to take risk away from the individuals. Although the restrictions placed upon its people have certainly help Australia government to earn its reputation as a ‘Nanny State’. It can be argued that we are not in the danger of becoming a nanny state as long as the restrictions are reasonable. This essay will focus on how the rules and regulation posed by the government on two of the most controversy topics: smoking and alcohol are able to influence the behaviours of its citizens in the hope to reduce health risks. In addition, by examining the health impacts and the interventions adopted …show more content…
Although it is true that rules and regulations are essential for a government to protect its taxpayer, at the same time they take the opportunity to make mistake away from the individuals, mostly through the name of safety (Daube et al., 2008). It has been held multiple times in the past that when government announce new regulations, there will always be disagreement until they have proved their worth. As time goes by, the majority will started to support the decisions and take the benefits as granted. Take the history of government action on smoking for demonstration. Some of the actions taken by the government include forbidding advertisement on tobacco, restricting smokers in public space, increased taxes on tobacco, as well as restricting the access have undoubtedly reduce the consumption and exposure rates (Jochelson, 2006). The statistics on the number of smokers in Australia are used as evidence of the success of government intervention as the number of smokers have dropped dramatically from 75% in the 1950s to less than 17% (Sparks, 2011). There is no doubt that strong government action is the key to the decline of smokers and increase rate of …show more content…
For example, in the legislation to inhibit the selling of alcohol to underage people, the citizens thank the government for saving them from becoming an alcoholic at a young age (Daube et al., 2008). With the potential benefits which can be gained through these regulations, the media and the public are constantly have conflict perspectives on the method which individuals can adopt in order to live a healthier life (Magnusson, 2015). People often have the impression that the government are responsible for our safety, yet this raises the question of whom or what is the government actually are protecting us from. It is not like anyone is pointing a gun to our head, and forces us to spend money on cigarette or alcohol. In most cases, people make their own decisions, and by logic, the person should be responsible for their own actions and learn to manage risk through their