In recent years, governments are increasingly turning to a particular tool to deal with things they don’t like: the ban.
Depending on which way one leans, one may agree or disagree with a prohibition. But the practice itself is dangerous because it is an inevitable slippery slope. Once the public acquiesces to a ban or other sort of restriction, further bans are sure to follow. This was the fate of the smoking ban, which first limited cigarette smoking to outdoor areas, and has since escalated in countries like New Zealand to a permanent lifetime ban on any tobacco products for citizens born after 2009, regardless of age. This is an affront to economic freedom and consumer sovereignty.
