Remember the 4th installment of the Police Academy series? You probably only remember the scenes with the guy that could make all those sounds. Yeah, those were pretty funny. The plot of the movie was that the police department enlisted citizen volunteers to help with crime. If it worked there, it should work in Fredericton, right?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/12/07/nb-macknight-volunteer-speeding-616.html

A few things that may be at play here:

People are always complaining that speeding is an issue in their neighbourhood. The police are probably tired of hearing all the complaining so they came up with this proposal.

There is a perception that the police just don’t do enough enforcement of traffic laws. You perceive this every time you are stopped behind someone in a merge lane, or stuck at a blocked intersection. Sometimes you’ll see a cop car just sit there while this happens. Don’t forget all the media attention that the bicycles on the sidewalk got.

The city doesn’t receive a penny from the speeding fines. There is no incentive for them to write more tickets. This causes it to be considered a cost, instead of being revenue-neutral.

So where do you see speeders pulled over? Knowledge Park Drive, because it’s really easy. The speed limit is 50, yet the road just goes through the middle of the woods with no houses or businesses on either side. All of the officers can fill their ticket quotas on the first of the month on that street.

Maybe there’s more to this story than what we are hearing. Perhaps this is a hidden request by the police to have their budget increased? Isn’t the budget coming up for vote next week? Hmmmm. In any case, the Fredericton Police Force has an image problem, this will just make it worse. Stop coming up with questionable plans and start writing tickets.

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In the Fredericton area, there has been an advertising campaign on a local radio station for a laser fat removal procedure. After doing some searching, I’ve created a FAQ.

Does it actually work?

Inconclusive. There was a single study that claimed it did, but it does not appear to have been done in a controlled manner. It was also conducted by people who were also selling the treatment. There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence both for and against this procedure actually working.

Is it safe?

Inconclusive. There have been no studies performed that track short or long-term side-effects.

How does it work?

The laser light breaks down the walls of the fat cells. The fat is then flushed away and either excremented out or redeposited elsewhere in the body. As there have been no scientific studies performed, we don’t really know.

The treatment provider also has the patient follow a strict diet and exercise plan. This plan is similar to many commercially available weight loss programs. It is unclear how much of the weight/fat loss is performed by the laser, or the weight loss plan.

How much does it cost?

It would probably depend on how much you want to lose, but prices of $2,000 have been quoted online.

What are the issues with the radio ads?

The trans-media ads (using the radio and social media) were misleading.

1. One host claimed to have lost 9.5 inches. While most other weight loss plans measure their inches lost around the waist, this measurement is the sum of four separate measurements. A measurement is taken at the waist, hip and each thigh and then they are all added together. This makes a larger number, but was not disclosed anywhere in the advertising.

2. One host claimed the laser system caused him to lose a significant number of inches, but he was also on another commercial weight loss program at the same time (unrelated to the current campaign). While this was disclosed on the radio, it was never disclosed during the advertising segments, nor is it disclosed on the Facebook page. One can piece together their own conclusions while listening to the radio, but not everyone will have heard those segments. The advertising was presented in a manner that suggested that it was only the laser procedure that caused the fat loss.

Conclusion

Maybe this procedure works, maybe it doesn’t. The fact of the matter is that there are no quick fixes to weight loss. You need to make major lifestyle changes. Even if you could actually go “pew, pew, pew” and have the fat blasted away, it isn’t a permanent fix. You’ll just gain it all back again. This system is for people who want a quick fix and don’t mind spending a lot of money to do it.

If you really want to lose weight, try a cheaper commercial weight loss plan, like WW or SFL. It won’t be easy, or fast, but it will be long-term if you are willing to put the effort into it.

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