Should Tobacco be Legal?

Even with all this bad news tobacco is a legal substance. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are over one billion smokers in the world. With that many users and the financial/political power of the tobacco companies, tobacco will stay a legal substance.

But tobacco is different than other consumer products and deserves to be treated differently. The typical “should tobacco be regulated?” argument generally sounds like this:

AGAINST REGULATION: Tobacco is a legal substance and is enjoyed by many people.

FOR REGULATION: Tobacco is the only consumer product that if used in the intended manner, causes death in a high percentage of its users.

AGAINST REGULATION: But other consumer products have negative health consequences associated with them. Alcohol certainly has health problems associated with its use. Even, foods with high fat contents can cause health problems.

FOR REGULATION: The difference is that those other products are not addictive. Tobacco contains nicotine and is addictive. (If you doubt this, just ask anyone who had tried to quit!) Also, potato chips don’t cause death when used in their intended manner.

AGAINST REGULATION: But people understand the risks associated with tobacco and freely accept them if they choose to use tobacco.

FOR REGULATION: Certainly adults should be free to make decisions for themselves. However, children should be protected from the advertising and promotion of tobacco products. Since tobacco is addictive and has so many negative health consequences, non-tobacco users should not have to pay the healthcare costs of tobacco users. The only way to protect children and make tobacco companies pay for healthcare costs is to regulate them.

In the end, people who want to use tobacco will use tobacco. Even the most militant non-smoker knows that tobacco will not be outlawed. To consider the foolhardy nature of such an action just think of the Unites States experience with alcohol prohibition.

If people choose to use tobacco, they should have access to unbiased information so that they are able to make an informed choice. In addition they should be prepared to personally bear the full cost of tobacco use.

Because of tobacco's addictive and health damaging properties, society should treat tobacco differently than other consumer products. Other products with dangerous aspects are regulated (alcohol, guns, drugs, etc), so it should not be difficult to understand why tobacco needs to be regulated and the activities of tobacco companies need to be restricted.

In the past, tobacco companies have enjoyed virtually unregulated access to the US market (they still do in some foreign markets). When they had that access, they misused it.

Nicotine Addiction
Information:
American Society of Addiction Medicine
http://www.asam.org/nic/
nicotine.htm

American Lung Association
http://www.lungusa.org/
tobacco/index.html

Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers.
Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco
/issue.htm