Chart of the day

Gerontocracy in Austria (other Western countries or Japan may be similar)! In 2024, 54% of citizens are over 50 years old.
Blue shaded area represents citizens (eligible to vote) over 50 years old. (Source)

The final puff: Can New Zealand quit smoking for good? Beware the Tyranny of the Majority!

Are the Kiwis going nuts! Is there something in their drinking water? There has been quite a few disturbing news coming from NZ in recent years!

They say democracies are laboratories. However, this is clearly an unconstitutional interference with individual liberty! Or the the tyranny of the majority!

This is also blatant age discrimination!

The dictatorship of experts going wild!

"Update, 13 December, 9:45 a.m.: New Zealand’s House of Representatives today approved the legislation making the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan law. It will take effect in January 2023. ...
Unveiled in December 2021, the plan features three radical interventions. One, called the smoke-free generation strategy, will make it illegal to ever sell combustible tobacco products to those born in 2009 or later. The goal is to create an ever-growing cohort that never picks up the smoking habit. A second provision calls for reducing the number of tobacco retailers by as much as 95%, to make cigarettes harder to get. The boldest proposal in the eyes of experts is reducing cigarettes’ nicotine content to below addictive levels. ..."

The final puff: Can New Zealand quit smoking for good? | Science | AAAS New Zealand’s public health officials have drawn on a decade of research to craft a plan to make the country smoke-free

Democracy Is Another Form of Tyranny

Very recommendable! Democracy is the tyranny of the majority (>=51%) over the minority (<= 49%). Alexis de Tocqueville and others warned us about it!

Democracy Is Another Form of Tyranny: The word democracy appears nowhere in our nation's two most fundamental documents, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Unconstitutional Smoking Bans In The U.S.

Prologue

I am a lifelong non smoker, but to vapor e-cigarettes could be something I would consider. I have high school friends who smoke, but they are very considerate.

This topic of government mandated smoking bans as well as advertisement bans for tobacco have been dear to me for some time.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoking_bans_in_the_United_States#States_with_no_statewide_smoking_ban

Outrageously Unconstitutional!

Interference with freedom of contract and private property to the extent that government smoking bans adversely affect private businesses.

It is up to restaurant owners to cater to either both smokers or nonsmokers or both. Customers/patrons are free to choose where they want to spend their money.

Even at the workplace it should be up to the employer/owner to decide about smoke free etc. working environments. Again, employees are free to choose where to work.

Few States Have No Statewide Smoking Bans

Did you know that according to Wikipedia as of early 2014 only 10 states have no such bans applying to the private sector.

Oklahoma appears to be the only state respecting individual freedom and free markets in this respect. “In Oklahoma, state law prohibits local governments from regulating smoking more strictly than the state, making it the only state without any kind of legislated smoking bans.” I congratulate!

Tyranny Of The Majority

In my estimation, government mandated smoking bans are nothing but pandering to the majority of nonsmokers. It seems to be a classical case of the tyranny of majority at the expense of individual liberty, private property, and free markets!