I’m an addict. Whenever I have a stomach sickness and decide
not to drink coffee I get a bad caffeine withdrawal headache. I often end up
drinking an espresso just to get rid of the headache, even if it further upsets
my stomach. I also probably drink too much alcohol, although I won’t really commit
to saying I definitely drink too much, because alcoholism is frowned upon among
the middle-classes, while coffee drinking isn’t. But being addicted to nicotine…
well, that’s really unacceptable.

The vast majority of Americans alive today have grown up
knowing that smoking was bad for them. Bad in that maybe half of regular
smokers would die due to their habit. 
Many, perhaps the vast majority, would like to quit, but some actually
like it. But the middle-classes dislike it so much that few will admit it. Perhaps
being a European (well British — but still European even after Brexit), I know
more well-educated folks who enjoy smoking. Some of them have turned to
flavored vaping and heat-not-burn products to maintain a level of enjoyment
while improving their safety.

Yet federal agencies and most physicians seem to want only
cessation from tobacco and not harm avoidance. Some, including CDC, have even
misled the public into thinking that the THC vaping deaths might have been
caused by Juul-type products. Where is the outrage at this blatant lie? Well
you won’t find it in the middle-classes because it’s ok to lie about nicotine.

Don’t get me wrong: Smoking is a horrible habit, and vaping also contains risk. But some people actually like both. And while public health is important when it comes to policy, it is not the only consideration. As we ban flavors in tobacco products and raise the age of legal purchase to 21, those who worry about driving the youth market underground have a point. But don’t try and defend people’s right to smoke at middle-class dinner parties. Just drink more wine, because that’s acceptable.

The post It’s easy to be paternalistic when it comes to nicotine, the blue collar addiction appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.