Tobacco - a legal product ?

There is now no dispute that smoking tobacco causes deadly health problems. For decades the tobacco industry was in denial, but conclusive proof exists that smoking tobacco causes lung cancer, heart disease and a number of other associated health problems.

With this in mind, various governments have restricted access to tobacco and prohibited it's use in places where people congregate. It is illegal to sell it to people under eighteen - and the list of prohibited venues seems to grow each year.

It is illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants, on trains or ferries, in office buildings or theatres - and on some public beaches. Now there are proposals to ban smoking in private cars whenever a child under eight years is also a passenger.

By far the most contentious piece of proposed legislation is a law that would prevent tobacco products from being visually displayed at any point of sale.
Tobacco would become an " under the counter " product that would have to be specifically asked for. It would also be illegal for the person selling it to be under eighteen years of age.

This begs the question - Is tobacco to remain a legal product ?

If tobacco is so damaging to health that all these restrictions apply why has the government not taken the logical final step and banned it ?

Years ago marijuana was a legal product - until people started smoking it. Marijuana falls somewhere in the category between tobacco and alcohol. It is possible to get " stoned " smoking the stuff - and for that reason alone it was declared illegal - not that this stopped it's availability.

The government stops short of banning tobacco for several reasons. By far the greater is the hit treasury would take from the tax revenue stream that would be lost. There would also be opposition from northern New South Wales and Queensland farmers who earn their living growing tobacco - and by far the biggest disincentive would be the loss of political support from the over twenty percent of the population who smoke.

There is also the certainty that by banning tobacco the government would be creating the biggest illegal smuggling operation this country has ever seen, dwarfing the illegal supply of marijuana which at present absorbs a huge amount of police time and effort without in any way diminishing availability.

Without the courage to take giant steps it seems we will continue to see incremental law changes to harass the industry and make the product difficult to buy. At the same time, these new edicts will multiply the selling costs of already struggling small business - and no doubt increase the government revenue stream by fines imposed by the compliance police.

Perhaps the banning of tobacco would be a worth referendum item to be included beside the vote at a future election !