[Anecdotes] Freedom of Speech is License to Kill

Commentary writer Ken Paulson makes a cogent argument that tobacco manufacturers should not be compelled to display graphic warnings on cigarette packages to indicate tobacco’s toxic properties (“Column: Cigarette makers have freedom not to speak“). Since the 1960s, evidence of the deadly effects of tobacco has led to declines in its consumption and social acceptability.

Yet, our government has not taken significant action to fully protect its citizens from the dangers of tobacco. The federal government has banned several substances with legitimate medicinal properties — including marijuana and certain narcotics — for recreational use. Therefore, what sense does it make that tobacco products, which are linked to cancer, heart disease and stroke, are still legal in the United States?

Effective ways to reduce tobacco consumption include taxes, bans on flavorings, and large and graphic warning labels. However, none of these strategies goes far enough. Government should ban tobacco.

[read more at USA Today]

[Here is an UPDATE on the current status of the graphic warning label regulations]