Last gasp

In 1632, the OttomanA member of the Turkish dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire. SultanA Muslim king or ruler. Murad IV had had enough of his people grumbling about him over a morning cup of coffee. So he did the only logical thing: he banned coffee. Anyone he caught partaking of the forbidden drink, he would decapitateCut the head off. on the spot.¹

But even the threat of a violent death did not deter his subjects. The Ottomans loved their coffee too much.

Perhaps British leader Rishi SunakA British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. had Murad on his mind when he announced yesterday his own ban on a popular product: disposableIntended to be thrown away after it is used. vapes.

Figures show that 7.6% of children aged 11 to 17 now vape regularly or occasionally.² Sunak, who has already taken steps to ban smoking for children, now has the more colourful alternatives in his sights.

But will it work? History suggests that banning things does not always have the desired effect.

During the infamousFamous for the wrong reasons. ProhibitionA total ban. In the US, it refers to the period between 1920 and 1933 in which alcohol was banned. era, many historians say, people found any loophole they could to acquire alcohol. Pharmacists were allowed to prescribe whisky to cure some illnesses, so many people posed as pharmacists to sell alcohol.³

Not only was the ban ineffective, they argue, but in some ways it was actually harmful. Illegal alcohol was of a much lower quality and an average of about 1,000 Americans died every year from drinking it.⁴

But not everyone agrees. Historian David Courtwright claims prohibition really did reduce drinking by as much as 30%.⁵

The point of a ban, they argue, is not to stamp something out entirely. If you make it just a bit harder for people to do something, then a lot of them will choose not to do it.

Then there is the question of personal choice. Some say if freedom means anything, it must include the freedom to make mistakes.

But defenders of the ban point out only disposable vapes are affected. Those who really want the freedom to vape, or want to use it to stop smoking, will still be able to do it.

But do bans work?

Yes: No ban is fully effective. But they are good at preventing casual use. If vapes are easy to buy, some people will buy them on a whimA sudden desire or change of mind.  and may get addicted. If they are banned, they will not.

No: Bans always have unintended consequences. They do not always reduce the use of the thing that has been banned and they almost always make using it less safe.

Or... Whether or not bans "work", we should have a much more serious discussion about what choices we think people should and should not be able to make.