An LNAT practice essay that was written in response to the prompt: "Should cigarettes be sold?" The writer of this essay received offers to study law from the University College of London, King's College, Durham University, the University of Exeter, and was invited for an interview at Oxford Univer...
In the UK, cigarettes are legal, but heavily regulated, with manufactuers
required to disclose adverse health effects and sell only to those above 18.
Considering these strict rules, one might deem a cigarette ban superfluous and
unecessary. In this essay, I will counter this argument and explain why
cigarettes should not be sold.
I will begin with a common counter claim: imposing a ban would violate one’s
individual liberty. In the UK, consumers over the age of 18 are able to legally
purchase alcohol. Drinking is similar to smoking, as both can result in severe
health issues (liver damage and lung cancer) and, when purchased in excess,
can lead to addiction. Likewise, both are used as recreational activities and
serve no practical purpose. Therefore, if alcohol is legal, it follows that smoking
should remain legal as well.
However, this comparison fails to recognise one essential difference: whereas
alcohol only detriments its user, smoking imposes equal harm on others
uninvolved in the practice. When a user lights their cigarette, their second-
hand smoke is released to the public. This can increase the likelihood of lung
cancer for their friends, families, and coworkers. One might argue that alcohol
is the same: if one user were to drink then cause an accident while driving,
other innocent pedestrians could be killed. However, this situation does not
appear relevent. Alcohol alone does not cause car crashes; drunk driving does.
Collisions can easily be avoided by arranging designated drivers, staying at
home, or using public transport. Thus, the issue does not lie with the substance
but with the conduct of its users. This can be contrasted against cigarettes, as
lung cancer is induced immediately by the product’s second-hand smoke,
rendering the cigarette directly liable. Hence, despite their similarities,
cigarette appears to exert far more negative externalities on society compared
to alcohol. I believe these consequences outweigh the benefits of retaining
one’s personal autonomy and should thus be addressed through a cigarette
ban.
Even if one were to ignore these points, there lies a second issue with the
aforementioned personal autonomy argument. The concept of personal
autonomy assumes users are knowledgable enough to make their own choices.
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