Cigarettes should be illegal

Should cigarettes be illegal? I thank IceClimbers for initiating a debate on what is an interesting topic. A1: A huge amount of taxation revenue is generated from cigarette sales Cigarette taxation has been raised 72 times in the States, from 2000 to 2007 [1]. This should give you an idea of how much the U.S.A relies on cigarette taxation for the government. In 2011, ~17 billion dollars in taxation revenue was generated from tobacco sales [11]. Obviously, this is a noticeable amount of money, and to lose this will mean that taxation will be required from elsewhere. A2: It would badly hurt business and the economy Since the UK implemented a smoking ban solely in bars during 2008, business revenue has declined 15%, 10% of bars are now operating at a loss, and 60% of businesses were forced to lay off employees, just to stay in business [2]. “In 2010, the combined profits of the six leading tobacco companies was U.S. $35.1 billion, equal to the combined profits of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and McDonald’s in the same year” [7]. To make smoking illegal, would wipe a huge amount of the U.S.A’s economy, which is obviously not an economically sound idea. Why? Think about the job loss and the missing taxation revenue. A3: Things which are dangerous are often beneficial In 2010, there were “an estimated 5,419,000 crashes, killing 32,885 and injuring 2,239,000” [8], from road accidents in the U.S.A. Should cars be banned, because clearly they are so dangerous? No, because cars serve a purpose. Sport is also relatively dangerous, and an unnecessary risk. Physical exercise could easily be found in less harmful activities like rugby and football, in things like skipping. “From 2002-2003, 870 people were admitted to ACT hospitals for sports and recreational injuries. From 2002-2003, the ACT had the highest hospitalisation rate per 100,000 population for combative sports with 3.7 compared with the 2.7 for Australia as a whole. One million sports injuries occur each year, which suggests one in 17 Australians, suffer an injury. The annual cost of sports injuries in Australia is an estimated $1.65 billion.” [4]. Clearly, a lot of sport are harmful things to participate in, yet people are still allowed to do this! Why is that? Liberty. Smoking serves a different kind of purpose, one in which the Founding Fathers built America upon. It is the right to personal autonomy. As John Stuart Mill, in his On Liberty work states: “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant” [5]. Is everyone in society forced to smoke, because he/she was being held at knifepoint? It is a choice, and with the help of school-based smoking awareness programs, which give children access to real information about tobacco usage, the choice can be informed [6]. The tenant of ‘it is harmful’ does not suffice as a reason for banning, as there are plenty of harmful activities which are beneficial, as I have shown. Allowing people to smoke is one of them. A4: Drug Cartels and the Black Market Historically, prohibition has been disastrous. In during the 1920s and early 30s, prohibition in America merely lead to crime rackets, dealing in contraband, being established [7]. Despite marijuana being illegal in the U.S.A, “over 102 million Americans (41 percent of the U.S. population) have used it during their lifetimes, 26 million (10 percent) having used it in the past year, and over 15 million (6 percent) have admitted that they use it regularly” [9]. Making a popular drug illegal, has shown to have very little effect on people’s choices, at least in this regard. What’s worse is that locking-up marijuana uses costs the U.S.A over 1 billion dollars a year! [14] So how are people getting these illegal goods? Drug cartels. The Mexican drug cartels, which supply a lot of drugs to the U.S.A, has resulted in the deaths of over 60,000 people, in violent drug-gang related incidences. Mexico is already the main supplier of marijuana to the U.S.A. Almost 70% of recovered guns, from 2007 to 2011, from Mexican activity related to crime, were sold in the U.S.A. Drug cartels and Black Markets are something to avoid [10]. The lesson to be learned is that the banning of popular recreational drugs leads to Black markets and drug cartels. A5: Electronic cigarettes An electronic is a battery-powered vaporizer which simulates tobacco smoking by producing an aerosol [12]. It does not release nicotine, which helps to curb addiction [13]. These cigarettes are clearly not bad. Why should they be banned? References [1] http://www.taxadmin.org.... [2] http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk... [3] NHTSA ('Traffic Safety Facts 2010 Data') .pdf, NHTSA.dot.gov June 2012 [4] http://sma.org.au... [5] http://www.gutenberg.org... [6] http://www.tobaccofreekids.org... [7] http://en.wikipedia.org... [8] http://en.wikipedia.org... [9] http://www.alternet.org...'s_still_illegal [10] http://edition.cnn.com... [11] http://www.taxpolicycenter.org... [12] Bertholon, JF et al. (Nov 2013). "Comparison of the aerosol produced by electronic cigarettes with conventional cigarettes and the shisha". Rev Mal Respir (30(9)): 752–757. [13] Saitta, D; Ferro, GA; Polosa, R (Mar 2014). "Achieving appropriate regulations for electronic cigarettes.". Therapeutic advances in chronic disease 5(2): 50–61. [14] http://www.alternet.org...