Groundbreaking guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests people cut down on alcohol and sweets, quit smoking, and exercise more. In addition to this revelation, NICE also pointed out that friends of people trying to lead a healthier life should not encourage them to join them at the pub or have a cake.

Social workers are advised to take advantage of “life-changing” moments in people’s lives, such as having a baby or being diagnosed with an illness, to help them switch to a healthier lifestyle.

“You should share your goals with friends, family and work colleagues so they understand what you’re trying to do. They also must understand it’s not helpful or a joke to tempt people deliberately,” professor Mike Kelly, NICE public health director, said.

“Say for example someone says, ‘I’m going to make a real effort to cut down on my drinking.’ If the first thing that happens within the next five minutes is that a colleague says, ‘come on, we’re all going down the pub after work,’ that doesn’t help.”

A public spending campaign group, the Taxpayers’ Alliance, was quick to react to professor Kelly’s infinite wisdom and called it subversive nannying. Robert Oxley of the alliance, pointed out, equally self-evident, that making promises regarding health was common this time of year.

“Many of us will be trying to shed a few extra pounds or cut back on booze over the new year, but we don’t need quangocrats lecturing our friends and colleagues while we do so,” Oxley said and added: “This is further evidence that NICE is both a waste of everybody’s time and taxpayers’ money.”

Meanwhile, a recent study suggests that tripling tobacco taxes around the world could cut smoking by a third and prevent 200 million premature deaths within 100 years. The tax hike is also thought to encourage people from switching to cheaper brands.

“This immensely important study demonstrates that tobacco taxes are a hugely powerful lever, and potentially a triple win – reducing the numbers of people who smoke and who die from their addiction, reducing the health care burden and costs associated with smoking and yet, at the same time, increasing government income,” Cancer Research UK chief executive Dr. Harpal Kumar said.

Obviously, your wellbeing is more important to your government than the tax-dollars it risks losing from your unhealthy lifestyle. Study after study, funded by governments either directly or indirectly, have demonstrated time and time again that a healthy lifestyle prolongs life expectancy.