EPA's mission is to reduce environmental hazards. Those prone to acute anxieties about hazards. The anti-tobacco crusade was a money grab by government which, had the grab succeeded, would have acquired a dependence on a continuous high level of smoking to fund programs paid for by exactions from a legal industry selling a legal product to free people making foolish choices. The last rationale is inconvenienced by the fact that there are almost as many American ex-smokers as smokers. The 40 percent decline in smoking between 1975 and 1993 coincided with a public health campaign emphasizing individual responsibility for choices.
Wicked corporations preying upon helpless individuals are responsible for individuals' behavior.
Calfee says per capita cigarette consumption has barely declined since 1993. This assault, a result of the politics produced by a culture of irresponsibility, is an emblematic fruit of Clintonism. E.W. Scripps Publications , All Rights Reserved. Site users are subject to our User Agreement . We also have a Privacy Policy .