Now you will probably say "this is obviously some right winger, and he's exaggerating," so I've included a rough translation of the article in question.The Norwegian nanny state is quickly becoming its own best parody. The latest news is that the Labour-led coalition government is demanding that shops will have to place candy in such a way that it is out of reach for children, and away from the cashier's counter.
So far, this is only supplied in the form of "guidelines" to supermarkets and the like, but health ministry state secretary Arvid Libak (Labour) is quite clear that if they are ignored, the rule may be put into law.
The argument is that tired parents may be overwhelmed by children's nagging in the line to the counter and buy them some chocolate (as you know, chocolate is a gateway drug for heroin).
It is worth noting that Øystein Djupedal, education minister in the same government, famously noted that it was "a mistaken view of child rearing that parents are the best in raising children." It doesn't take a village, it takes a Socialist State.
From a Norwegian article in the daily VÃ¥rt Land.
PS: Djupedal again, who is from the Socialist Left, recently made the stunning admission that he has now realised that "children have to learn to read" in school, a turnabout in the socialist's educational policies. Via Hablog.
Government may ban sweets
The Government is fed up with sweets placed at child height, and hawked by the checkout queue
By Lars Halvor Mageroy
The Consumer Rights Bureau presents new voluntary guidelines for marketing sweets. The objective is to give children healthier eating habits.
- The best would be if the stores themselves found good solutions. However if this doesn't give the desired effect we will consider passing legislation, says state secretary Arvid Libak (Labour).
Complicated
The Department of Health is irritated by the fact that unhealthy food is displayed in a height reachable by children. Sweets is the last thing you pass in the checkout area, where tired parents easily give in to nagging children.
- You could ask yourself why it's getting to be almost impossible to buy just a single chocolate, and why the bags of candy have to be so much bigger than they used to be, says Libak.
- Will there be legislation to regulate the display of sweets?
- I'll only say that this can also be solved through a form of marketing. We must consider legislation as part of the greater picture if the stores themselves can't find good voluntary solutions.
Tobacco
The consumer goods business is worried about the new political signals. Merchants fear government interference in their shelves, report the business magazine Dagligvarehandelen.
- There's a tendency to regulate stores more than there is a factual basis for, says Thomas-Angell in the organisation for Consumer Goods Stores.
He thinks that the departments latest initiative is connected to the suggestion that tobacco should be removed from the checkout area. VÃ¥rt Land wrote this week about attempts in Sweden where they're using a pneumatic tube system to circumvent the rules and make tobacco available at the checkout.
- We can see that these are harmful goods, but we're against regulating the shelf placement of all goods you don't like. Right now it's sweets, maybe the next time it's pastries or chips. They are also within reach of children, says Angell.
That's one of the proposals, the other one is a ban on all advertising for candies, at least when sent at times that children can be watching, and all candy has to be put in a large locker behind the cashiers desk. Of course the locker has to be closed, they are prohibited from telling children what is in there, and can only give out candies if specifically asked.
So the kid has to come up and go: "What have you got?"
"I can't tell you, what do you want?"
"Ah... gimme a nut chocolate..."
And there you are! They won't see the chocolates, they won't be tempted, and they won't be able to stuff their faces. Good policies for a happier Norway, or what?
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