Smokers Beware: They're Coming for You!

For all you freedom-loving smokers out there (I have a few in my family), get a load of this proposal. How would you feel about having to get a LICENSE to buy cigarettes? That is what is being proposed by one particular freedom-hating control freak in an article published this week. Here is a summary of the article.

Tobacco continues to kill millions of people around the world each year and its use is increasing in some countries, which makes the need for new, creative, and radical efforts to achieve the tobacco control endgame vitally important. One such effort is discussed in this PLOS Medicine Debate, where Simon Chapman presents his proposal for a “smoker's license” and Jeff Collin argues against. Chapman sets out a case for introducing a smart card license for smokers designed to limit access to tobacco products and encourage cessation. Key elements of the smoker's license include smokers setting daily limits, financial incentives for permanent license surrender, and a test of health risk knowledge for commencing smokers. Collin argues against the proposal, saying that it would shift focus away from the real vector of the epidemic—the tobacco industry—and that by focusing on individuals it would censure victims, increase stigmatization of smokers, and marginalize the poor. [Read the article at this link.]

Luckily these debaters are from the land down under -- Australia. But somebody please hide this information from Nancy Pelosi. If not, she will be introducing it in Congress before the end of the year!

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