Tobacco Rights

Thanks for the reply, Joshua. As Pro, I will be putting forth the case that tobacco rights should be protected but still regulated to an extent. The only regulation I support is the law which allows only 18+ year olds to purchase tobacco products. Outside of that, the government has no right to step in and dictate what its citizens are smoking. I will keep my first round brief to allow for full expansion on my points in the next round when my opponent's defense has also been put forward. >> PRO ARGUMENTS << 1. RIGHTS The justification that the government cares about our health is a weak one. Even if it were true, that still gives them no ability to regulate what we eat, drink or smoke when it is legal. Would you support the government setting a limit on you of four Big Macs a week because they were worried about your health? Of course not. You'd tell them you have your own privacy and that your health is no concern of theirs. The government has no legal right to regulate the consumption of legal products by federal or state law. To do so would be infringement on the rights of the people to act within their own authority as individuals and choose what they deem to be appropriate. The only justifiable regulatory actions would be an age limit which has been implemented for the last 13 years. [1] And just like oppressive regulation of tobacco would be unfair when it is legal, abolishing it altogether would be even more disastrous. What would be the justification – it's unhealthy? That brings me to my second point… 2. HARMFUL TO HEALTH We all know that smoking cigarettes has been linked to lung cancer, lung diseases, numerous cancers and cardiovascular disease. But let's compare that to fast food and other processed foods. SMOKING: -Respiratory Disease -Cancer -Cardiovascular Disease -Lung disease -Heart disease -Stroke [2] FAST FOOD: -Obesity -Heart Disease -Cancer -Stroke -Asthma -Liver disease [3] The truth is, many things are detrimental to our health. Without moderation, even fruit can have harmful side effects such as dental decay, osteoporosis, wasting of muscle tissue, inability to maintain a healthy weight, chronic fatigue, skin problems, thinning hair, weakening nails, and excessive irritability [4]. These two examples show the overall ineffectiveness of the "smoking is bad for you" argument that the government tries to put forth. Many things are bad for you but that is no justification to taking away personal liberties. Now, many also worry about second-hand smoke which has led to smoking being banned in public areas and work places. This is justifiable as long as the proprietor is putting forward the regulations and not through the use of federal law. The US has property rights for this very reason – to protect the interests of the business owner. If they feel that smoking will harm their patrons, which will cause less of them to return, then they would rush to ban smoking. The point is, property rights are more than enough to regulate exposure to smoking. [5] 3. TAXES The revenue from the taxes on Cigarettes in 2008 raised $16,575,613 overall. [6] And this was before the Obama tax increase which bumped up the previous 2008 excise tax from $0.39 to $1.01 per pack. [7] With our economy as horrible as it is at the moment, could we really afford losing something which brings in so much revenue? >> CONCLUSION << In conclusion, tobacco rights should be protected by the government since there is no logical justification to their outlaw. Property rights are efficient enough to limit exposure, with no help form the government. And even though health risks are inevitable, you could say the same from eating fast food, fruit or processed cheese. But the biggest advantage to the existence of tobacco is the money brought in by exploiting the addictions of smokers. There's no way we could lose all that revenue without a crippling effect. Resolution Affirmed. Vote Pro. Sources: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] http://www.sixwise.com... [3] http://www.cdc.gov... [4] http://drbenkim.com... [5] http://www.matrixbookstore.biz... [6] http://www.taxpolicycenter.org... [7] http://en.wikipedia.org...