Monday, November 02, 2015

Protect yourself from tyranny by protecting others

I don't smoke and I don't use tobacco products or electronic cigarettes -- a non-tobacco process called 'vaping.' But I see an illegitimate attack coming from government against people who produce, distribute and use electronic cigarettes that is worth a closer look if you value freedom from government intrusion or coercion in any way.

State and federal regulators and taxers have set their sights on e-cigs and those leading the charge seem unlikely to let anything get in their way. This kind of zealotry always seems to be evident in the worst kinds of official abuse. If you need examples of that, look at the "War on Drugs'" decades-long attack on hemp as a drug, the "War on Poverty's" decades-long attack on stable families and the "War on Terrorism's" persistent attacks on individual liberties which seem to be well on their way to lasting decades.

Leading U.S. Senators speaking last Friday made clear their desire to destroy e-cigs, even though a recent study in England found vaping to be 95% safer than smoking and concluded doctors should prescribe e-cigs for smoking cessation. Meanwhile, an NPR-Truven Health Analytics poll suggests 53% of vapers use e-cigs to quit smoking or as a healthier alternative to smoking.

Allowing politicians to go to war against a proven smoking cessation tool and a preferred alternative because it looks like something that offends them is just like suspending seven year olds from school for pointing a PopTart "gun" at another student.

If we don't stand up to government's unfair attacks against people who think and act differently than we do, who can we expect to help us when we find ourselves in the crosshairs?