Disposable vape ban will be counterproductive
29 January 2024
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In the Media
Christopher Snowdon quoted in The Sun and The Express
29 January 2024
In the Media
Economic Theory
11 November 2024
Christopher Snowdon writes for The Spectator
IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon has written for The Spectator criticising the government’s latest crackdown on vaping.
Christopher wrote:
“The pressure group Action on Smoking (ASH), which usually shares the public’s love for banning things, says that ‘the risk of unintended consequences is too great for us to support a ban’. ASH’s former director, Clive Bates, says the proposed ban ‘sinks further into empty gesture politics, goes against evidence, does more harm than good, and makes everything worse’. He has called on the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, to resign for publicly supporting it.
“There is also the small matter of personal liberty. Banning adults from buying products because minors sometimes buy them illegally has never been a principle of UK law. Many more 11-15 year olds drink alcohol regularly than vape regularly, but no one is talking about banning cider.
“The lesson is simple. Vaping and smoking are direct substitutes. If you make one of them less appealing, less available or more expensive, you give the other a boost. Anti-vaping policies are effectively pro-smoking policies.”
Read Christopher’s full piece here.
Christopher wrote:
“The pressure group Action on Smoking (ASH), which usually shares the public’s love for banning things, says that ‘the risk of unintended consequences is too great for us to support a ban’. ASH’s former director, Clive Bates, says the proposed ban ‘sinks further into empty gesture politics, goes against evidence, does more harm than good, and makes everything worse’. He has called on the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, to resign for publicly supporting it.
“There is also the small matter of personal liberty. Banning adults from buying products because minors sometimes buy them illegally has never been a principle of UK law. Many more 11-15 year olds drink alcohol regularly than vape regularly, but no one is talking about banning cider.
“The lesson is simple. Vaping and smoking are direct substitutes. If you make one of them less appealing, less available or more expensive, you give the other a boost. Anti-vaping policies are effectively pro-smoking policies.”
Read Christopher’s full piece here.
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