President Obama has promised to sign into law a bill that grants the FDA power to hit the tobacco industry with sweeping regulations related to its production and marketing. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act drew vast support from Congress, winning large majorities in both houses. (Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, Jr. as well as Rep. Todd Platts all supported the act).
Unfortunately H.R. 1256--hailed by the president as "a bill that truly defines changes in Washington"--undermines America's promise of freedom.
Never mind that the mandatory warning labels depicting smoking's negative effects will have virtually zero consequence for a public that already knows that smoking kills--about 400,000 each year according to the CDC.
Never mind that those who propose limitations to the amount of nicotine per cigarette ignore the painstakingly obvious fact that smokers are addicted particularly to nicotine, not cigarettes, that for example a pack-a-day smoker craves a pack's worth of nicotine rather than a pack's worth of white paper cylinders.
Never mind that an ordered ban of all tobacco advertisements within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, to take effect by 2012, blatantly violates First Amendment rights.
Whatever happened to liberty's most essential ally, personal responsibility?
The idea behind the legislation is this: Because tobacco products are unhealthy and potentially fatal, the federal government must step in and save the people from themselves.
Or more accurately: Because the people are too stupid to make their own decisions about their personal health, the federal government then has a right to make those decisions for them.
How about this zany idea (I know it's radical, but bear with me):
What if each individual makes his or her own decisions on nonviolent matters that affect no others directly? And what if each individual suffers the bad consequences and benefits from the good?
For decades, the word has been out on the dangers of smoking. More and more, we're learning what has been swept under the rugs of Big Tobacco. The knowledge required to make an educated decision is out there.
The more responsibility for ourselves that we cede to the government (or anyone, for that matter), the less free we are. The hole we have dug is already a deep one. Some of us no longer expect to be held accountable for educating our children, paying our mortgages or
generating income while unemployed.
It's time to break the chain. It's time to quit--cold turkey.
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