I have a feeling it would backfire. Something more subtle and less absolute, like a local tax, could discourage smoking. But outright bans give smugglers a guaranteed income.
Banning the sale of a product isn’t the same as banning the possession of a product. There are entire counties that ban the sale of alcohol but it’s not actually illegal to buy it in the next county, transport it to your home, and to drink it. You might be able to ban the sale of tobacco (I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer) but banning its use or possession might be a different story.
Aside from creating an immense black market and turning what was a tax revenue stream into a law-enforcement money pit, I say go for it!
Well, not really. Regulation is more useful so the cities can thousand-cut the problem to death gradually.
San Francisco bans tobacco sales in drug stores with pharmacies. Hospitals also don’t sell because they are in no smoking zones, but presumably many of their staff do smoke on breaks. And of course schools don’t sell them and any store that’s a concession inside a city-owned building. I think sales were banned in bars and restaurants when they went “dry”. Soon they will be like liquor stores, requiring a special permit and kept out of residential areas.
Since using tobacco isn’t illegal, then no, we shouldn’t ban the sale of it.
If a city/county/state/nation really feels that their citizens should not be allowed to use tobacco, then they should be honest about it, and try to pass an outright ban. None of these disingenuous campaigns. No death by a thousand cuts. Just screw up your courage and institute a ban. Then deal with the public reaction, pro and con.
disclaimer - I’m not a smoker. I don’t like being around tobacco smoke. I do believe that smokers have right, and I’m tired of the BS backhanded way things are being handled now.
Added to the total disaster that drug bans already are, I doubt that any municpality would commit such a stupidity. But they certainly could. Putting a tax of $1000 per pack would do it too. As said, it would also convert a revenue stream into a law enforcement headache.
For exactly the same reasons, they should repeal all drug bans. They don’t work and it would seem that their main effect is to incarcerate several times as many inhabitants as civilized nations. Mostly black too.
For many years my white, middle-class sister consumed cocaine regularly. She never imagined that she was in any danger of going to the clink for it.
I’m someone who utterly despises the tobacco industry and smoking in general ( much of my family dying from it will do that ). That said, a ban would be a bad idea; as pointed out bans like that just don’t work, and feed organized crime.