Hasn't the time come to outlaw the sale of tobacco products?

[Hekate]

129. Making smoking socially unacceptable has done a better job than Prohibition ever would

Alcohol consumption had become a truly serious social/public health problem by the time Prohibition was enacted -- that's something now forgotten. Yet outlawing the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol was a disaster, turning ordinary people into lawbreakers and opening huge opportunities for criminal gangs.

Society's attitudes toward consumption have changed drastically since then. It's no longer legal to sell to small children -- or to drive under the influence. Party hosts no longer urge departing guests to have one more for the road. Pregnant women are advised to avoid it. Ads are different.

Attitudes toward smoking have undergone a similar change. Big Tobacco has fought this tooth and claw, and they always will, but the fact is that smoking is declining in the US. I'm for education and severe regulations, including high taxes (which have been shown to reduce the incidence of youngsters starting the habit) -- but not making tobacco illegal.