Nanny state & health

Isn't it time the 'nanny state' (Apologies to the Daily Mail) stopped treating everyone like schoolkids. Lets hike up the price of alcohol for all to stop a few idiots. I remember being at school when the whole class was kept in because no-one would admit to the misdemeanor. Why not punish more severly the wrongdoers or is that too radical ? First an all out attack on smokers, who by the way put more into the state by way of tax in general, than they take out through healthcare. Then a blitz on binge drinking, of which I'm in favour but not at the expense of everyone else!A tax on fatty foods has been proposed, even higher parking fees to quote "encourage motorists to walk more" Whilst all this concern from a government about the nations health may well be laudable most of the lifestyle choices are a result of socio-economic conditions . There is an almost perfect correlation between poverty and poor health areas. The government would therefore be better off employing resources to alleviate the poverty and improve health with real money and education.