The Nanny State

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This discussion is prompted by a response to my discussion on coffee and the experts' change of opinion about it. I love Australia, and I still believe it is the best country in the world, but it really annoys me that it is becoming increasingly a "nanny state." By that I mean, the government wants to control aspects of citizens' lives that it has no right to control. Flouride is put into our water to prevent tooth decay - never mind that it is a poison which, among other things, damages the thyroid. If parents want to protect their children from tooth decay, what is wrong with them buying a flouride toothpaste? Why should everyone else have to be forcibly medicated? (I believe that when people begin to wake up to just what a bad effect flouride has on our health, the class actions will be as big as the asbestos ones, or bigger.) It is against the law to not wear a safety belt in a car. It is even against the law to allow a passenger to travel without a safety belt, and the driver can be fined for doing so. Now, I think seat belts are a good idea. I just don't want to be compelled to wear them as if I were a child being told what to do. It is illegal to buy raw milk. Why? Because 1 (yes, that is ONE) child died after drinking raw milk. Nobody checked whether the milk had been stored and handled in a safe manner. No, no - it was raw milk, so that must have been the cause of the child's death. Therefore nobody can now buy or sell raw milk. Yet ironically tobacco, which has been proven to cause major health problems and a huge death toll, can be bought and sold freely. I guess that just goes to prove the power of the tobacco industry and the "dead milk" industry. The government is enforcing childhood vaccination by making it illegal for a child to attend kindergarten if his/her vaccinations are not up to date. There are regular calls for extra tax on products that the government deems "bad for us." All of this, and more, adds up to what I consider to be a very unhealthy level of government control over individual lives. I would be perfectly happy for the govt to offer its advice and opinions about what we should do to remain healthy. BUT - and it is a very big "but" - I am a mature, intelligent person and perfectly capable of making my own informed choices about what I put into my body. I believe it should be my right, and my right alone, to make those choices for myself and for those in my care, not have the govt's choices rammed down my throat. What's your opinion? Is your country a "nanny state?" To what extent do you believe the government should have the right to interfere in individual's lives and choices?