Armin,
Alcohol and sugar, not the best comparisons. Alcohol in moderation actually has a beneficial effect wrt health, i.e., lowering of cholestoral. Sugar exists naturally in nearly all the foods we eat, fruits, vegtables, etc. and in an of itself is not harmful to health to the general populace.
The quality of "natural" is irrelevant. Arsenic and hemlock are natural but no reasonable person would accept them as additives for food products. Lead, another natural ingredient has been banned from paints and water pipes and there is no rise of objection from any sector of society that I know of.
Tobacco use on the other hand is harmful to health, period. Whether it's use is in "moderation"; it's been shown to be harmful to the health of secondary users, i.e., non-smoking bystanders that inhale the airborne smoke over a period of time.
I'll offer a different question...Does society [governement] have the authority to ban the use of poisons for human consumption?
poison: noun
1. A substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
jttmab |
