Smoking gun ignored - The Boston Globe

Eileen McNamara has written a column for the Boston Globe advocating that smoking be banned nationwide. Apparently, the source of her outrage is that a bad habit has had a disproportionate effect on her family, so we all just need to knock it off.

Lung disease took Uncle Vincent, too, as it had taken his brother, Daniel, my father, and a score of other McNamaras, including my mother, Frances. Most of them, like most Americans who die of lung disease, had been smokers.

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Why then do we still sanction the sale of tobacco products? Why are our anemic public health efforts aimed at eliminating smoking in public places or restricting tobacco sales to those over age 18? Why do we talk about tobacco control instead of tobacco elimination?

My answer to these questions is twofold: firstly, tobacco prohibition simply won't work. It didn't work with alcohol, it's not working with marijuana or cocaine, and it won't work with tobacco. If you think "Big Tobacco" is bad, wait until sale and distribution of cigarettes is taken over by the criminal drug cartels.

Secondly, where would we be if we set out to ban all risky behaviors? Scuba diving, sky diving, swimming, rock climbing, automobiles, or even fatty foods could have just as easily claimed Ms. McNamara's kinfolk Should all be outlawed? What then to do about alcohol, football, boxing, stairs, and bathtubs? You can't legislate risk out of life, and you shouldn't try.