Europe’s New Puritans ━ The European Conservative


There are plenty of reasons to be outraged by France’s outdoor smoking ban. Most obviously, telling the French where they can and cannot smoke is akin to outlawing a national pastime. Then there is the justification for the ban. It was, we are told, for the sake of the children that cigarettes must be prohibited in parks, on beaches, at bus stops, and in sporting venues. It is also part of President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to forge a “smoke-free generation” by 2032. 

The ban came into effect at the beginning of this month, so far, it seems, to varying degrees of effectiveness. It’s hardly surprising to learn that many French smokers are resistant to being told where they can and cannot smoke. I’m surprised (and a little disappointed) there were no gilet jaunes-esque protests to bring the country to a standstill. Almost a quarter of French people still smoke, and many more are likely social smokers. Now, they all theoretically face a fine of up to €135 if caught in the act in many public places. The French can at least be glad their ban isn’t as bad as Milan’s, where smoking is illegal and subject to fine “all public spaces, including streets,”, as of January this year. 

To what extent this will be enforced is yet to be seen. So, too, is how effective the ban will actually be. Second-hand smoke is bad, yes, particularly for children. But it takes a hell of a lot of it to do serious or long-term damage, especially outside. There is actually very little evidence that so-called passive smoking presents significant health risks in the open air. 

In any case, why can we not trust adults to make a judgement call for themselves? Surely they can use their eyes and see if there are any children in sight before lighting up? And, as a word of advice to parents, maybe don’t sit directly next to smokers on the beach or at the park. There is, I’m sure, a way for everyone to be happy without introducing laws that infringe on the freedoms of over a quarter of the population. 

This points to a pernicious trend in lawmaking throughout the continent. We see more and more that our governments are incapable of believing in our powers of judgement. We are not trusted to make decisions about our own lives or to be able to tell what is good (or bad) for us. 

In the UK, this Nanny State mentality is all-consuming. Our own version of France’s outdoor smoking ban is currently working its way through parliament in the form of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. This plans to outlaw smoking in places like playgrounds or outside hospitals. It originally contained provisions to ban smoking in pub gardens and outside nightclubs—something that was thankfully scrapped after punters and the hospitality industry alike kicked up sufficient fuss. One of the most outrageous parts of the bill is that it aims to introduce a generational smoking ban. This means that, once it comes into law, anyone born after 2009 will never be allowed to buy tobacco products, even once they turn 18. Once again, this is all part of the plan to create a ‘smoke-free generation’ and a ‘smoke-free Britain.’ 

It is assumed that Brits are not smart or responsible enough to make any decisions about their health. Even vaping, the safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes, is deemed too dangerous for us to be trusted with. A ban on disposable vapes came into force at the beginning of June. This was introduced ostensibly on environmental grounds, in an attempt to cut down on waste, but is quite clearly just one more step down the path of outlawing vapes altogether, disposable or not. Again, this is couched as being ‘for the children,’ who are supposedly being lured into corner shops by the colourful packaging and exotic flavours—nevermind the fact that adults presumably enjoy fruit-flavoured vapes, too. It is also, of course, already illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. Why we don’t simply enforce the existing law instead of banning vapes for everyone remains a mystery. 

The UK has followed Belgium’s footsteps in this, where single-use vapes have been banned since January. The law was introduced not only on environmental, but also explicitly on health grounds. Belgium’s health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, described electronic cigarettes as “extremely harmful.” Explaining the concept of e-cigarettes as though talking to a small child, he said: “E-cigarettes often contain nicotine. Nicotine makes you addicted to nicotine. Nicotine is bad for your health.”

Does anyone who smokes or vapes really not know by now that nicotine is addictive? And that tar damages your health? In Belgium, as in the UK, cigarettes are subject to plain-packaging laws. Every time you buy a pack you are confronted by these grotesque Top Trumps, presented with images of gnarly-looking diseased mouths, blackened lungs, or weeping impotent men. Switching to vapes should surely be seen as a step forward for public health, as e-cigarette vapour does not contain tar. But whatever the case may be, why not let people choose for themselves if they want to take the risk? 

It’s not just smokers who have to be worried, either. Enjoying a drink is also under threat from Europe’s killjoy governments. The popular tourist city of Porto, Portugal recently introduced a ban on alcohol sales from anywhere other than licensed bars, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. The aim is to curb the wave of drunken tourists, but the new law will no doubt be equally as inconvenient (and expensive) for locals, forcing people to visit bars and nightclubs in the later hours instead of staying at home. Spain’s Balearic Islands brought in a similar law last year. 

These bans may be motivated primarily by rowdy tourists, but this is not the case elsewhere. As of August this year, Latvia will restrict alcohol sales from 10am to 8pm on Monday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays (previously, the time limit ran from 10 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively). Restaurants and bars wanting to stay open past this time will have to apply or re-apply for a special permit to sell alcohol. The new law also bans advertising alcohol in most places, mandates signs displaying health warnings, and prohibits alcohol being delivered to customers any sooner than six hours after purchase. 

The UK has been mulling over similar restrictions lately. Earlier this week, there was talk of banning ads for alcohol on TV, either outright or before 9 p.m. (the latter is currently the case for junk food ads, another source of the enjoyment the British government is keen to crack down on). These plans were scrapped after backlash from the industry, but ministers still plan to introduce health warnings on some labels, as Ireland has done recently. As part of the UK’s drive to force a ‘healthier’ nation, the Department of Health also announced this week that restaurants will now be required to report on patrons’ meal choices and to track how healthy or calorific they are. 

Bit by bit, our personal freedoms are shrinking. Whether it’s smoking, vaping, drinking, or eating what we like, our public-health-obsessed governments assume that we’re too weak or too stupid to make our own choices. Either through outright bans or the power of suggestive ‘nudges,’ we must be prevented, like toddlers, from doing anything that might cause us any amount of harm. But risk is a part of life, as is pleasure. A free society accepts that adults will sometimes make bad choices—and that through doing so, they will learn to make better ones. It is not the state’s job to childproof the world for us. Leave us to eat, drink, smoke, and be merry as much as we please. 





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *