Who's Health is it Anyway

This morning I was listening to a radio program on the perils of drinking alcohol for pregnant woman. There was an American professor and an English doctor comparing how alcohol and health matters in general are addressed in the two countries

First of all, just as a bit of scary trivia- the first warnings about the dangers of drinking while pregnant were made in 1977 in the United States and in the mid-'80's in England!

Another shocking statistic: more foetuses in the United States are harmed by drunk men physically abusing pregnant woman than by the effects of consuming alcohol.

The American professor went on to say that in the litigious society that America is that the main effect of putting warning labels on alcoholic beverages is to free the producers of said beverages from any lawsuits arising from alcohol damage to a foetus. The onus for the drinker's health, and in this case for the unborn child therefore lies completely in the hands of the individual.

Not the Alcohol Industry; not the Health Industry; and not the State.

In the UK, under the National Health Service (NHS) the responsibility for one's health is deemed to be the State's rather than the individuals. On the surface this makes sense. If everyone pays into the NHS but some individuals abuse their own health they are essentially abusing the NHS, which all taxpayers support, thereby actually abusing the Nation.

This has created the "Nanny State" which tries to reach into everyone's lives and legislate as much as possible in an attempt to ensure that the State is not overwhelmed by it's responsibilities. The public's response is to complain loudly about the intrusions to their privacy- and then to complain even louder when the NHS is overwhelmed by illnesses including a high percentage of self-inflicted through poor health habits.

The rise of obesity for example, although not yet to the levels of the USA suggest that this approach is not succeeding. It does open up interesting discussions. Should for example, the NHS really be responsible for the health of an obese diabetic smoker with a drinking problem?

Questions such as these have lead to a myriad of research projects aimed at removing even more responsibility from the individual such as looking for the "obesity" gene. I don't wish to suggest this is not valid research, nor that such a gene doesn't exist. I do wish to highlight that in the UK there is a glaring need for the individual to start assuming some personal responsibility-and not just in terms of health care.

In the USA we are just entering into this realm of a more mandated State's responsibility as the Health Care Legislation comes into effect. The ability of an insurance company to refuse or withdraw coverage would appear to be on the way out. Along with rising premiums I assume that the insurance industry will change it's tact in that they will gnaw on the sacred cow of freedom and individual responsibility because it will now have a direct impact on that other sacred cow, profitability.