Good debate.
I see good points on both sides and I wouldn’t say either is necessarily wrong in their overall point. I believe that Maher is pointing out how we seem to champion obesity here in the U.S. and that’s definitely becoming more true. Back in the day, drinking and smoking were presented more often as appealing and even sexy.
To an extent, they still are but it’s been dialed way down and they balanced this out with anti-smoking ads (the Truth campaign) with people and their stomas or showing graphic accidents caused by drunk/buzzed drivers, last texts from victims of drunk driving. We don’t even have cigarette ads on TV and alcohol ads give you the “drink responsibly” disclaimer.
I was watching “Thank You for Smoking” earlier this week and Aaron Eckhart has a debate with the people who are lobbying for tobacco to include a skull & crossbones on tobacco product labels to show how dangerous they are to kids.
With all the talk of moderation and being aware, why isn’t there more of an out-cry for awareness with high-cholesterol foods? If we’ve got an advert for a double-bacon triple cheeseburger with heart disease being the leading cause of death in the U.S., why not a simple “Eat responsibly” or call to have all fast food entities out a disclaimer on their packaging?
I mean....
https://www.thecoli.com/threads/kfc-returns-from-the-kitchen-with-a-new-sweet-savory-item.733454/
Why not put a disclaimer on all soft drinks (sports drinks included) to inform people of how dangerous too much sugar can be?