Smoking Ban

Introduction Since PRO is arguing in favor of a smoking ban, they are affirming the resolution "Smoking should be illegal." The resolution, when phrased in that manner, is normative, which means the burdens of persuasion are shared evenly; no side bears a greater burden than the other. PRO's burden is to show that smoking "should" be illegal, while my burden is to show that smoking should NOT be illegal. PRO lays the standard of the harm principle, as framed by Mill, to view this debate. I agree with the standard, and would like to expand on it. The harm principle is essentially a standard that seeks to maximize individual liberty, when this liberty is balanced by the liberty of other individuals. In other terms, liberty exists insofar as it does not harm any other individual, wherein "harm" is extended to mean a reduction in the probability of net benefit. But the meaning of "harm" here is vague. "Harm" essentially means "a negative mental state," in other words, suffering or pain; harm also means the *prevention* of gaining a positive mental state (e.g. pleasure). The harm principle, thus, creates an obligation on the government to reduce or prevent harm unless the prevention of any harm leads to the creation of greater harm. The proposal PRO defends is to make a blanket ban on the production and consumption of tobacco. In other words, PRO is advocating a "ban" on "smoking" at the government level -which means a total tobacco ban, similar to what is currently enforced in Bhutan. As CON, I will be defending a counterplan: the prohibition of smoking on all public or government property, with owners of private property deciding for themselves if smoking is allowed in said property. I will argue that my counterplan is vastly more beneficial than PRO's plan, in the rebuttal rounds that follow. I. Individuals have the right to choose whether to use tobacco in their own property. PRO concedes the value of liberty as being critical, because liberty is a critical aspect of Mill's harm principle. This means, since PRO concedes to the necessity for individuals to be able to choose, I do not need to defend the notion that, insofar as a certain activity does not harm anyone else whose consent has not been gained, individuals are free to perform said activity. But PRO fails to touch upon one important part of the harm principle: when Mill says "other," he means a specific form of "other": an individual that does not **consent** to the harm that is being done. (1) For instance, if someone is on private property where smoking is allowed, by entering said property he automatically consents to being harmed by any secondhand smoking. Thus, individuals that do not consent to the harm caused by smoking are not affected by it in any manner, because if they do not consent, then by default they do not enter private property wherein smoking is allowed. This is more than sufficient to uphold the harm principle while avoiding the risks of non-consensual passive smoking by children, and so forth, considering that smoking will be prohibited in government property (but not "banned" by the government). Considering this fact, smoking should not be entirely prohibited because that infringes on individual liberty when the exercise of said liberty causes no harm to individuals that do not consent to said harm. II. Total tobacco bans encourage the creating and strengthening of violent criminal activity, and criminal networks If a market is no longer controlled or allowed by rule of law, the market does not vanish. It stays on, but it stays on in a manner of unregulated competition, which often moves into dangerous situations and violence, because participants use violence to resolve disputes. For instance, the illegal drug trade has resulted in high levels of dangerous conflict, and alcohol prohibition in the United States led to the same problems. The Council on Foreign Relations explains that prohibition of substances such as alcohol and drugs do not change the level of usage; instead, they move into the black market, and myriad threats arise associated with it, including violent crime. (2) Drug-based gang violence has resulted in 2,000 homicides per **year** in the United States. (3) Experts predict that a total tobacco ban will fuel tobacco-based illegal cartels, and further fund already existent drug cartels. Legal markets are able to compete with black markets and prevent violence, but under PRO's plan, no such guarantee exists. In conclusion, the resolution harms individual liberty, and causes violent crime to increase. As such, I urge a CON ballot. Thank you. References 1. John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty," p. 15. 1978 edition. Hackett Publishing. 2. Brianna Lee, "Mexico's Drug War." March 8, 2012. Council on Foreign Relations, Web. Accessed November 11, 2016. http://on.cfr.org... 3. National Gang Center. "National Youth Gang Survey Analysis." Web. Accessed November 11, 2016. http://bit.ly...