But I am not anti anti-smoking. I am grateful that the movement has made it impossible for me to smoke in my office and in restaurants. These restrictions have cut my consumption dramatically. Having started at age 12 and watched family members suffer from smoking-related cancers, I certainly don't want my children taking up the habit. I have no love for tobacco companies, who have made money off me from a product I wish I didn't use.
Smoking is a terrible thing.
But in its pursuit of Big Tobacco, Big Health is taking on a certain odor, too. To be blunt, I smell fanaticism. All democracies need zealots. They sometimes bring us to terms with realities we would sooner ignore. Extreme measures, once legitimized in law, can be used by others, for other purposes.