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"Editor's Reflection" published in Liberty, February 1999, p. 6
May I See Your Papers, Please
by
Pierre LemieuxIf there was ever any doubt about the implications of the antismoking crusade, it should be dispelled by a recent scholarly article: "The Costs of Cigarettes: The Economic Case for Ex Post Incentive-Based Regulation," by Jon D. Hanson and Kyle D. Logue, in the Yale Law Journal, 107 (March 1998), pp. 1163-1361.
The learned professors recommend a legislation forcing any current smoker to obtain a "cigarette card." Anybody without a cigarette card would be forbidden to purchase cigarettes, including any current non-smoker. "The card," explain the authors "which could be based on the same magnetic strip (or computer chip) technology used for credit cards and ATM cards, would … have to be presented by the smoker each time she [sic] purchased cigarettes. The card would keep track of a variety of potentially relevant risk factors, such as the number of packs purchased by the smoker, which brands the smoker purchased, and the smoker’s age at time of purchase."
As for the fear of Big Brother, the authors argue, it is outdated since he (or she?) is already with us.
Liberty Magazine, © Copyright 1999, Liberty Foundation