Te Radar: Why everybody always ignores government warnings

Partaking in illicit drugs is a lot like holidaying in Bali. You never quite know how things will turn out. And in general, despite government warnings of potential dangers, people are not discouraged from doing either.

That's the thing about government warnings. Be they in relation to holiday destinations or lifestyle choices, they really don't work.

After a spate of deaths caused by solvent and aerosol misadventure the Wellington coroner called for government to strengthen warnings about drug misuse. This clearly would not work.

What he should have said is that brain-addled solvent abusers should be hired (or press ganged) by the state, to be taken as exhibits to schools to dissuade children from sniffing paint, glue, or air freshener.

Whether they need to be transported in kennels is a moot point, however it would serve to startle the kiddies and as a short sharp shock to penetrate their solvent-addled brain now that the judicious use of electric current is outlawed.

At the very least video footage of them should be shown to the youth. Preferably when they are very young.

As a child of 6 I was subjected to a rather graphic movie about fire safety.

Set in a hospital (oh the humanity), it began by establishing several likeable characters and detailed their personal lives, including a moving scene as two were engaged and exchanged rings.

There was then a rather unexpected and very explicit depiction of a nurse being burned to death. We spent the next 30 traumatizing minutes watching many of the characters being fatally roasted.

It climaxed with the chargrilled hand of the brave, recently engaged, now clearly deceased, male childcare worker falling poignantly from beneath a sheet after he had last been seen attempting to rescue a stupid child.

This simple film has given me a lifelong phobia of fire. And children.

High school was a different story, especially as regards to drug education.

Rather than graphic films I distinctly recall the only anti-drug message being one delivered by a radio sports talk chap who lurched in front of us bellowing that he was off the grog because he couldn't handle it (I paraphrase) and that we should Be Careful.

He then regaled our tender young ears with the tales such as that of the young man who ended up in jail high on DRUGS who, in order to stop the visions he was experiencing, used his fingers to remove his own eyes.

Rather than an anti-drug message all I recall is wondering if that rudimentary surgical procedure had in fact stopped the visions.

Another man, he said, convinced he could fly, stepped off a roof and plummeted to his death. Years later I remembered this story. Unfortunately it was at the point in my existence when my next thought was "Wow, I can't even remember how to walk".

And that in many ways sums up government warnings. We all recall them, but only after the event they warned about has passed.