According to the European Union, based on a three year investigation by experts in the field, there is no evidence that drinking water can prevent dehydration.
Don't Drink That!
Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.
Last night, critics claimed the EU was at odds with both science and common sense. Conservative MEP Roger Helmer said: “This is stupidity writ large.”
“The euro is burning, the EU is falling apart and yet here they are: highly-paid, highly-pensioned officials worrying about the obvious qualities of water and trying to deny us the right to say what is patently true.
Roger Helmer is a member of the European Parliament from the U.K.
Will the British National Health Service have to revise its guidelines and no longer claim that “drinking water helps avoid dehydration, and that Britons should drink at least 1.2 litres per day?” The NHS probably should, because of all the disgusting things fish do in it. Yuck.
Still, some in the U.K. are unhappy with the ruling. According to Paul Nuttall, another member of the European Parliament from the U.K.,
I had to read this four or five times before I believed it. It is a perfect example of what Brussels does best. Spend three years, with 20 separate pieces of correspondence before summoning 21 professors to Parma where they decide with great solemnity that drinking water cannot be sold as a way to combat dehydration.
“Then they make this judgment law and make it clear that if anybody dares sell water claiming that it is effective against dehydration they could get into serious legal bother.
On the other hand, this article in the Guardian argues that the EU determination is quite sane. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Since the United States has few bureaucrats of such superb competence, we should offer higher salaries and efficiency bonuses to lure as many as possible to Washington to help. Better yet, we should join the European Union. In either event, many jobs could be saved or created.
I’m thirsty. Is it too early for a beer?
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