The piece looks at a recent paper titled 'Daring to Dream' in which anti-smoking advocates look at "end-game strategies" to wipe tobacco from the face of the earth. What could possibly go wrong, eh?
It also looks at a study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy—called 'History of Bhutan's prohibition of cigarettes: Implications for neo-prohibitionists and their critics'—which looks at how tobacco prohibition has been going in Bhutan. The answer, of course, is not well.
There is, says its author, “a thriving black market and significant and increasing tobacco smuggling… 23.7% of students had used any tobacco products (not limited to cigarettes) in the last 30 days… tobacco use for adults has not ended or is even close to ending… cigarette prohibition is instrumental in encouraging smuggling and black markets… The results of this study provide an important lesson learned for health practitioners and advocates considering or advocating, albeit gradual, but total cigarette ban as a public policy.”
That’s right. Prohibition still doesn’t work.
Do pop over and have a read...
