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One of the most enduring lessons of American history is that prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol (a “noble experiment”) was a colossal failure. Alcohol consumption did not decrease much, but profits ended up going to bootleggers and mobsters rather than legitimate businesses, and murder rates rose to the highest in American history. It was this policy that made America’s most famous gangster, Al Capone, famous and wealthy.
I was reminded of this recently as I watched the Biden administration’s Food and Drug Administration move to ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol flavorings account for approximately 37% of cigarette sales. That demand won’t go away, but it will be driven underground, creating more significant risks for consumers.
Ninety years after the failure of Prohibition, we are about to try Prohibition again on smokers. Ironically, many liberals who have campaigned for 30 years to legalize marijuana and other soft drugs (which I generally support) now want to effectively ban smoking. There is.
Biden targeted in battleground states over menthol cigarette ban
The FDA’s proposed rule would “prohibit menthol as a signature flavor in cigarettes and all signature flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars.” The government justifies the measure by saying it “has the potential to significantly reduce illness and death from the use of combustible tobacco products.”
It sounds like a repeat of what the Temperance League told us about prohibition: “Prohibition saves lives, reduces crime, cures social ills, and improves the health of the nation.”
But even if all these beneficial results were true, when did the U.S. government have the authority to regulate the health and risk of Americans’ personal habits? As Americans, don’t we have the right to do things that are bad for us? Or will we slouch towards a nanny state?
There are many dangerous activities that Americans are willing to risk. Things like rock climbing, parachuting out of a plane, riding a motorcycle, and overdosing on sugar (which I’m definitely guilty of). are notable examples. Remember when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to stop obesity by banning the Big Gulp? Reading the misinformation in the New York Times is bad for you, but I I have no intention of banning the newspaper.
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We should have learned from the largely failed drug war that the main effect was to enrich drug dealers. Instead of the government raising money by taxing cannabis (as many states currently do), that money went to drug cartels, criminal organizations, and street drug dealers.
I’m not a smoker. I don’t smoke. I don’t like it when people smoke around me, so I have to inhale and smell cigar or cigarette smoke. I’ve taught my kids not to smoke or use drugs, and anti-smoking programs in schools make a lot of sense.
I have a friend who died far too young due to his chain smoking habit. On the other hand, I occasionally smoke, especially when I’m stressed. It relaxes me, the same way I sometimes take a chewable on a sleepless night. I don’t want government officials to pull the cigarette out of my mouth.
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The strangest and most illogical thing about this call to ban menthol is that it comes at a time when smoking is rarer than at any time today in at least 100 years, and probably since the founding of our nation. . Over the past 60 years, smoking has decreased by more than 60% in almost all age groups, especially young people. Anti-smoking education campaigns are having an impact. Don’t change your winning strategy.
File illustration (Getty Images)
The FDA ban could backfire by making smoking “cool” and “sexy” again. When I was in high school, my friends and I would sometimes go to the beach and smoke marijuana joints, but part of the thrill was exactly that it was prohibited. We were teenage rebels for no reason, acting like James Dean.
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Consider that governments also collect billions of dollars in tax revenue from smokers. Promoting underground cigarette sales puts that money into the hands of criminals.
Yes, please keep cigarettes out of reach of children. But when it comes to the risks of smoking, let adults decide for themselves, not government regulators.
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