Freedom to Smoke

In ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ Isaiah Berlin states “To coerce a man is to deprive him of freedom”.

A week or two ago the European parliament was voting on taking the anti smoking ban a step further by banning smoking outside the workplace, pubs, beer gardens and such places. The fact is that they are doing everything possible to penalise the smoker short of outlawing it altogether. it is understandable enough that it has not been outlawed after-all it is still a lucrative source of income for Government and what Government wants to be responsible for criminalising a sizable proportion of its citizens.

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Smokers are being coerced by a self righteous and judgemental society, having no moral grounds to stand on they acquiesce to each new prohibitory law against them with little more than a whimper of discontent. They have had their unfettered  time when smoking was an normal part of social interaction and now that has  passed. Now smokers are made to feel as though they are outcasts no matter where they are. So many are choosing to try and give up while others are choosing to just stay at home.

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There is an ongoing debate about whether banning smoking is an infringement on liberty or not, the argument is that banning smoking is morally right as it protects people and will improve health standards in the long run. I would tend to be suspicious of any prohibitory law. Regardless of the reasoning behind it. A law that makes up your mind for you on any given thing is taking away from you your right to make your own choices. There is a sense that Government cannot trust its own citizens to make up their own minds. This sounds like fascism in sneakers instead of jackboots. The slippery slope to a more authoritarian type of Government that dictates to its citizens what is the good way to live.

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