Alan Johnson on Nanny State, Nudge State, or No State?

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Alan Johnson on Nanny State, Nudge State, or No State?

19 Mar 2009

Speakers: Alan Johnson MP

Alan Johnson discusses the intricacies of public health policy, and describes the roles of the government and the NHS in influencing public attitudes to health. The most serious modern health problems (lung cancer, heart disease, obesity) cannot be vaccinated against like the diseases of the past, and the best way to combat them is to prevent them - the NHS plays as much of a preventive role as a curative role.

The government has so far used measures such as restricting the promotion of cigarettes and banning smoking in the workplace to reasonable success in combatting smoking, but some problems, such as obesity and alcoholism, still persist.

Johnson discusses the impact of lifestyle on health, explaining how lifestyle choices are sometimes forced upon people - this is especially true in the case of the least priveliged in society. The 'Change 4 Life' scheme, a collaboration between communities, schools, businesses, the governent, and the NHS, aims to tackle these problems at source, by understanding the needs of people on a more localised scale.

This video was kindly provided by The RSA