Another smoking ban
The small kingdom of Bhutan, wedged between India and China, has banned smoking in public, as well as all commercial sales of tobacco. This is the logical extension of most smoking bans, and the potential repercussions for commercial and personal freedom are many. The most ominous aspect I've noticed is that a majority of respondents on a CNN online poll support a similar ban by their home governments. I wonder what Europe will do.
Personally, I'm torn. The tortured cigarette quitter in me is intrigued, but the rest of me, especially the libertarian side, is dead against this. At the heart of the matter is the perennial problem of morality being enforced by the government. And in pluralistic states - which are the majority of modern societies - this is very controversial. I guess the crux of the problem is to what extent tobacco usage impacts the other members of society, and is that impact harmful enough to prohibit in the form of legislation (or decree)?
Personally, I'm torn. The tortured cigarette quitter in me is intrigued, but the rest of me, especially the libertarian side, is dead against this. At the heart of the matter is the perennial problem of morality being enforced by the government. And in pluralistic states - which are the majority of modern societies - this is very controversial. I guess the crux of the problem is to what extent tobacco usage impacts the other members of society, and is that impact harmful enough to prohibit in the form of legislation (or decree)?
posted by JR at 2:33 PM
2 Comments:
Jesse- quite philosophizing :)
Smoking is bad for you. It's bad for public health. It should be banned. It's just the right thing to do.
Stay strong. Don't smoke!
Tory
I agree with you on both points: Smoking's bad for everyone and the government has no business regulating what goes on within the confines of one's own private property, whether it be smoking, drinking, political activism or a lascivously decadent match of strip Yahtzee.
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