Why Smoking Should Not Be Banned

Light um' if you got um'...

 

Smoking cigarettes%u2026This is something that I personally find revolting. An activity I will never participate in, and one that I have criticized others for. So, when asked whether I think there ought to be a ban on public smoking it may surprise you to here me say "absolutely not." Ladies and Gentlemen I want to talk to you today about three main reasons why a smoking ban or anything of the sort will one not work, two be unconstitutional, and three help pave the way for any sort of ban that the majority see fit.
I'll start with the first reason. A smoking ban is not practical and if history is the judge will not work. Lets look first at prohibition. In the 1920s the imperial federal government banned all consumption of alcohol. Citing it as not only destructive to the individual but a menace to the public health. By the end of the decade the ban was repealed. Why you may ask. Well because the ban had proven totally ineffective and had given rise to the infamous gangsters of the twenties whose main business was the distribution of alcohol to the masses. That's right. The law created to encourage a safer more secure society had done the opposite. It instead bread a thriving underground economy headed by criminals. Another great example of these sort of bans not working was in the 1980's to the present when the "War on Drugs" was started. Since then drugs are still out of control and all the legislation simply pushed hard drugs into the realm of criminal activity instead of the safety of free enterprise.
The second reason we must not enact a ban on smoking is because it is simply unconstitutional. Although advocates like to point out that smoking is a burden to the public health they are wrong. The effect on the general nonsmoking public is as indirect as the influence that chewing tobacco or alcohol have on the general public. This argument is an argument used for centuries to get something banned.
To prove this point one must only gaze upon war torn Europe in the 1930's and 40's. In many newspapers the German machine published propaganda calling the Jews a detriment to public health and safety. We realize this is the extreme end of the spectrum, but one must realize it is quite comparable. Another example described earlier is the 1920's alcohol ban. The same argument was made that alcohol denigrates a society. These arguments are based on the concept of a whole and centralized society and completely disregard any sort of freedom or personal choice that a free individual has to chose to live as he/she sees fit. There are some (pause) who would rather see the Constitution of our great United States be disregarded in any manner they see fit. We believe however, in the natural rights of man and the Constitution of the United States of America.
That brings me to my next reason that smoking should not be banned. Say that we go ahead and ban smoking based on the masses simply not liking it. I will then pose the question to you. "Where does it end?" Today we ban smoking. What's tomorrow? Fast food maybe? Fast food is just as responsible for health problems as smoking. In fact obesity is second only to smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Can you imagine banning fast food because people make a choice to indulge and become obese? If smoking is not an individual right because it is harmful to the public health then we should also ban fatty foods for being just as harmful to the public health. One could sight car accidents. For instance, in the year 2003 there were 42,884 car fatalities. If smoking is to be banned why not vehicles as well. After all that would save over 40,000 lives per year, but we all realize this to be impractical.

In conclusion, I have evaluated this preposterous proposition and found it wanting. Here are three very able bodied reasons why a ban would simply be ineffective and unconstitutional. The first, is that the ban would simply not work. This is supported by the effects of prohibition in the 1920's on society. The second reason is that it infringes upon constitutional rights of citizens of the United States of America. The third and final reason, is that a ban on smoking would pave the way for any other preposterous ban any gibrone in this country wants to enact. So smoke um' if you got em'.