The freedom to smoke
Tue, 2014-12-09 18:32
News Staff
by Tom Haughey
Let me begin by saying that I am no friend of cigarettes. Both my parents smoked two packs a day and as a result died at a premature age. There is no doubt that smoking is bad for one’s health. There is no clause in the United States Constitution, however, which gives government the right to stand between a person and his cigarette and attempt to curtail smoking by taxing tobacco to death. Many personal habits have negative consequences in a person’s life, but that does not give government the right to act as nanny and force compliance with government prohibitions. Government, for example, does not have the authority to coerce a citizen into not buying big gulp sodas or large candy bars. The audacity of New York City’s action in that respect is truly amazing. The mayor certainly can and perhaps should use his bully pulpit to urge restraint in eating and drinking, but he has absolutely no right to force compliance with his directives.