Regulations can save lives

J COLLIER (‘I’m tired of all this

exercise,’ Viewpoints, July 5) asks why life expectancy was so much lower when most men had physically demanding jobs.

On the same page Sam Darby of Burnage Greens points out that ‘pollution adds to NHS woes.’ The crisis of air quality due to increasing vehicle use on our roads, all too often gridlocked, is obvious.

Perhaps the reason J Collier seeks is something to do with the environment of our ancestors, filled with harmful chemicals such as asbestos, mercury and lead. Other factors were smoke and smoking, often poorer nutrition with deficiency diseases, and adulterated foods. And then there were unsafe working conditions before ‘elfin safety’ was enforced, stopping boys being sent up chimneys and getting cancer from the soot. Then there was damp housing and inadequate clothing with insecure employment and the spectre of debt.

It all sounds a bit like the lot of more and more people in our society and worldwide as governments, including ours, seek to free them from the ‘stranglehold of red tape,’ regulation, and standards that have improved the environment and their lives.

As we approach Brexit, we should all be wary of trade deals, established internationally or locally, which throw away what has protected people, working conditions, and our environment. One local example is the foisting of fracking on rural communities.

I hope people and unions rise up and take action so we continue to enjoy health.

J Littletown, Ashton