On health and safety warning labels
Alex @ July 27, 2008 | | Politics and Society |
I find it quite interesting that our “first-world” counterparts are so obsessed with health and safety regulations even to the point of absurdity (and stupidity, in some arguments). There are just so many things you can’t do in those parts of the world and practically everything needs to have a warning sticker label slapped on them mentioning you can’t eat the plastic or that walking through glass panels can hurt you. You might laugh at “Warning: This product can burn eyes.” slapped on a curling iron. Ever thought of curling your eyelashes? Better use something that’s not too hot.
But take our case for example, where health and safety are two words that have not been and will never be part of Filipino English vocabulary. Even the concepts of health and safety are just too vague concepts for us with which to even bother.
So I am exaggerating, but who cares? We all know there’s a bit of truth to that. I mean, how many years have we seen warning labels and statements included in cigarette packs, beer bottle labels and their advertisements that tell us that they’re health hazards and to consume them with moderation. I’ve even seen some liquor ad stating “Drink intelligently.” Come on, alcohol fries brain cells and you expect seasoned drunkards (who is the primary market of said drink) to drink intelligently?
Still on some finer points, the US Surgeon General’s warnings on cigarette packs are mostly to warn smokers of possible health complications like emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease and such. For us, either it’s stated that smoking is dangerous to your health or smoking kills. Probably it’s because getting any of those diseases spell a death sentence for us here.
Honestly I can’t think of other examples save for these two since I have yet to encounter other safety labels that bear government warnings on other products. Take a look around your household and they’re just token manufacturer warnings slapped on them to escape liability. Yes, rat poison can harm humans too and just in case you decided to ingest some tasty Racumin, you can’t blame Bayer for not warning you.
Which brings us to what else does the government warn us about? Bayani Fernando and his pink campaign, definitely comes top of mind. Yes, crossing busy streets are “nakamamatay” but so is Bayani Fernando’s face on tarpaulin banners. His mug and “Metro Gwapo” can cause you to guffaw behind the wheel, and when you’re out of breath, you’re sure to crash and die. And whoever said that they’re making the roads safer with those pink footbridges and makeshift roundabouts (U-Turn slots). Hey, I saw a guy on a wheelchair crossing one of Commonwealth Avenue’s pedestrian lanes get plowed by a car, probably because 1) wheelchairs won’t go up foot bridges, 2) the lack of stoplights allow motorists to speed up, and 3) Commonwealth Avenue is too damn wide. And the government advertises it as a safe road.
It’s really not comforting to observe how our alternative here is to follow/avoid something or die. Smoke a cigarette, you’ll die. Cross a street, you’ll die. But everything else, you can do. Whether you’ll die or not… Well, you’ll just die.
I guess it’s just a choice of what kind of government we’d like. One who’d consider us not to know left from right (or that curling irons can burn), or one that resigns to the fact that we’ll all die someday. Oh wait. Our government does both.
Tags: Government, Labels, MMDA, Warning
