British journalist and commentator Peter Hitchens has accused UK authorities of actively fostering public ill health through flawed health strategies while imposing unnecessary border checks on travel to Ireland.
Writing in his weekly column for World Stock Market, Hitchens argued that while the public treats the National Health Service (NHS) with religious awe, state policies consistently promote behaviors that fill hospital corridors and exhaust health funds.
Hitchens singled out recent coverage by the BBC, the UK state broadcaster, which highlighted a report claiming that people using e-cigarettes were more successful at quitting smoking than those relying on nicotine patches or gum.
Dismissing the BBC report as complete twaddle, Hitchens revealed that he threw a shoe at the wall in frustration over the claim. He insisted that inhaling vapour is simply smoking in a different way, describing it as equally revolting to bystanders and potentially just as hazardous over the long term.
Vaping Risks and Clinical Side Effects
Hitchens stressed that the full health consequences of vaping remain unknown, noting that traditional tobacco use often takes up to 40 years to manifest its deadliest effects. He questioned what researchers will uncover about e-cigarette usage by the year 2050.
Clinical trials have already documented a range of immediate side effects associated with vaping, including throat and mouth irritation, persistent coughing, and shortness of breath.
There are also strong indicators that children and teenagers who vape suffer from frequent coughing, wheezing, airway inflammation, and aggravated asthma symptoms.
Prescription Drugs and Mental Health
Turning to mental health treatments, Hitchens warned against the widespread use of antidepressants, arguing that their actual therapeutic effectiveness remains far from proven while carrying horrible side effects, particularly during withdrawal.
To support his stance, he recommended two critical articles written by Dr Marcia Angell, a physician and former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, which were published in the New York Review of Books in 2011.
He highlighted a recent revelation by the Daily Mail newspaper, which reported that one in seven people in England was prescribed antidepressants last year. That figure represents an increase of more than 15 per cent over a five-year period.
Hitchens also challenged the medical consensus surrounding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), calling it an unscientific, soft, and subjective diagnosis. He noted that his colleague, Dr Max Pemberton, raised similar doubts in a recent documentary broadcast on Channel 4.
A soft diagnosis leads to a hard outcome, Hitchens contended, as doctors frequently hand out potent medications that would be illegal without a prescription. He warned that long-term side effects of amphetamines include aggression, insomnia, impaired memory, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Marijuana Laws and Healthcare Reform
Addressing illicit drugs, Hitchens claimed that even liberal commentators are beginning to grasp links between marijuana use and incurable mental illnesses, which the healthcare system is poorly equipped to treat.
He cited growing evidence that marijuana users frequently turn violent, conflicting with the drug's peaceful public image. Hitchens claimed that a history of heavy marijuana use can be found in the background of almost every violent killer.
Despite strict prohibition laws against marijuana possession, authorities fail to enforce them, leading Hitchens to question whether officials actively want the drug to spread.
Hitchens concluded his critique of public health by arguing that society continuously promotes or fails to stop behaviour that makes people ill, placing an unsustainable burden on doctors and nurses. He urged policymakers to try harder to stop people from getting ill in the first place.
Travel Friction and Border Checks
In a separate critique, Hitchens condemned growing bureaucratic hurdles facing British citizens travelling to Ireland, contrasting current friction with the spirit of cooperation following the British agreement with the IRA at Easter 1998.
Travel between the two nations was historically governed by the Common Travel Agreement of 1923, which permitted citizens to move freely between Britain and Ireland without a passport.
Air travellers arriving in Dublin have faced mandatory passport checks for some time, justified by Irish officials under the claim that they must verify whether arriving travellers are UK citizens. Hitchens noted that passengers who object to these checks receive stern treatment from border officials.
Conversely, Irish travellers flying to London are not required to show passports upon arrival. However, new passport controls are now being extended to ferry passengers, a rule that apparently works both ways.
Hitchens pointed out the inconsistency of the checks, noting that the Irish state does not physically mark its land border with Northern Ireland. Motorists only know they have crossed the border because speed limit signs switch to kilometres and roads take different numbers.
Border customs posts were previously abolished by European Union rules in 1993, and those posts did not require travellers to produce passports.
According to Hitchens, Dublin officially recognises the border with Northern Ireland but does not do so in spirit. He pointed out that travellers wishing to reach Dublin without a passport can still do so by travelling through Northern Ireland.
Describing the border policies as blatant politics, Hitchens warned against excessive bureaucracy and expressed concern that the Scottish National Party (SNP) might adopt similar ideas in the future.
Warning Signs and Nanny State Overreach
Hitchens ended his column by noting a recent encounter with a yellow warning sign near a steep drop that read, "WARNING: Steep drop," accompanied by a drawing of a stick figure falling down.
Mocking the necessity of such warnings, he remarked that if the public has become foolish enough to require basic hazard signs, bottles should have "OPEN OTHER END" embossed on their bottoms.
