Diversity of minds

[Pigeon Pieman]

Hi all,

I read this article in the Shooting Times this evening and I felt it was so well written I'd take the time to copy it out for all to read  

 

Lets Ban the Can

Researchers from Nottingham University say that more than 60 000 people a year require hospital treatment after trying to open difficult packaging.  Food tins are cited as the chief culprits.

 

Quite apart from the distress caused tot he victims and their families, these injuries are said to cost the NHS £12 million a year.  Children playing barefooted are vulnerable to injuries caused by encounters with discarded cans.  'Peel top' corned beef tins and sardine tins of the type that have a removable key are the worst offenders, according to the Nottingham study.

 

Now, let's be honest: do any of us really need this type of tin?  There are all sorts of alternative ways of packaging corned beef or sardines.  Mere 'tradition' is not a good enough reason to own a potentially lethal object.  And even if anybody does have a valid reason, why should tins be kept in the home?

 

A civilised society should do all in its power to keep people safe, so it is clear that we need to rreduce the number of food tins in circulation.  

 

At the very least, all tins should be licenced and nobody under the age of 18 should be allowed to buy or possess one.  The small but vociferous tin lobby may squeal, but we must govern for the many, not the few.

 

Legally-held tins should be kept locked away, with the keys from 'peel top' tins being kept separately, lest a burglar should break into your kitchen and, while attempting to make himself a snack, cause himself a grevious injury.

 

There will be a tin-licencing section in each police force, funded by tin-licence fees.  The local Chief Constable would have the power to deny possession of a tin to anybody who cannot be trusted to use and store it safely.  Before granting a certificate, the police will want proof of your competence in tin opening.  They will also wish to inspect your tin storage facility.  Specially licenced premises like restaurants might be allowed automatic tin openers, but there is no good reason for ordinary people to own such devices.

 

There may be a valid need to own a variety of old cans for display purposes - in museums, for instance.  But I think we should do all we can to discourage private collections.  Anybody who wants to own more than six tins should be required to join an authorised can club and keep their tins in a secure central facility.  We need to stamp out this can culture wherever it rears its ugly head.

 

The licencing of metallic food packaging is a complex issue, so  we will need a Can Cnsultative Committee.  This body would include representatives from the food and packaging industries, the police and, of course, the Can Control Network.

 

If these measures save just one life or limb, then they are worth it - aren't they?

 

Article written by ALASDAIR MITCHELL.  Well done Alasdair, top bit of journalism!!