Should we make smoking illegal? (please provide good reasons why or why not)?

Question

Remember, people made marijuana illegal and people still do that.

Answer 1

smoking is illegal in several places now. It is illegal to smoke in Washington state.

Answer 2

It would not only be an immoral act of aggression against smokers to ban smoking, but would also be completely idiotic (as idiotic as Alcohol or Drug Prohibition). Prohibitionism makes the prohibited activity more dangerous (alcohol became extremely dangerous during the 20s when it was made in bathtubs), increases the frequency of that activity (everybody with half a brain knows that most underage drinkers and drug addicts merely do it because it is illegal), and promotes organized crime (everybody knows that Prohibition led to the rise of Al Capone and the rest of the mafia and that Drug Prohibition prolongs the existence of organized crime).

We should not make smoking illegal, even though it is definitely stupid to smoke. To do so would be a complete disaster.

Answer 3

No. The government can't forever be parenting adults who make their own choices. Everyone knows the consequences of smoking yet they smoke, so be it. My mother and I quit cold turkey in 1996 when a close friend died from lung cancer in great pain. I guess it is up to the individual whether or not they continue to smoke knowing the risks, but I do feel smoking should be banned in public places.
As for making smoking illegal, that would be wrong and an exercise in futility; liquor was banned in the twenties and people still drank; drugs are illegal now yet people are still addicts, etc merely outlawing something does nothing to stop it.

Answer 4

You will never see tobacco products made illegal. It's a big buck item with the government. I would hate to hear all the self righteous non-smokers crying when taxes had to be raised to take the place of the billions of dollars paid in tobacco tax. Another money matter is pension plans (especially teachers, firefighters and police) that buy stock in the tobacco companies.

Answer 5

if they made tabbaco illegal people would just break the law to smoke. I was watching a documantary on this prison and they made tabbaco illegal in this prison and it became more profitable to smuggle it into jail and sell it in jail than weed!!!! And also the government makes too much money off of it to ever ban it. Tabbaco companies pay taxes too!

Answer 6

You'd think we would have learned from our prohibition experiment and the fact that the war on drugs is a total and absolute failure. Why would organized crime not fill the void if the government moved to outlaw tobacco?

Answer 7

No. How much more government regulation do you want in your life? Don't laws already have enough control over every aspect of your life?

You know, you only have to look at the Halstead Act, and see what happened after that. Prohibition is a BAD IDEA!

Answer 8

No, because regardless of who profits off of tobacco it all boils down to personal choice.

There is plenty of information available to the public to prevent people from smoking.

Target the same group of people the tobacco industries target, the youth. You start there and you can curb people from even starting.

Answer 9

Do you think the Government is that stupid to make smoking illegal,never they make BILLIONS of dollars from other peoples misery.........ps.I am a smoker.

Answer 10

We should not.
Because millions of irate smokers,
(me included), would lynch every single
legislator who voted for it, and their families,
and their pets.

Come to think of it, it might just provide
a long overdue housecleaning.