<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Last gasp</h2>

In 1632, the OttomanA member of the Turkish dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire. Sultan 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.

Not only that, but from time to time he would disguise himself and stalk the streets of IstanbulA major city in Turkey, crossing both Europe and Asia. with a massive broadswordAn early modern European sword. . Anyone he caught partaking of the forbidden drink, he would decapitate on the spot.¹

But even the threat of a violent death did not deter his subjects. The Ottomans loved their coffee, which according to an old Turkish proverb should be "black as hell, strong as death, and as sweet as love",² too much.

Perhaps 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: disposable vapes.

Figures show that 7.6% of children aged 11 to 17 now vape regularly or occasionally.³ 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.

One problem is that people are ingenious at getting around rules. In 1844, a town in MassachusettsA state in the northeast USA. banned the sale of alcohol. In response, one tavern-owner started charging customers for a ticket to see a striped pig. They received free drinks with the price of admission. That way he technically was not "selling" alcohol.⁴

During the infamous 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, making them the perfect front for bootleggers. The number of registered pharmacists in New York State alone tripled in the 1920s.⁵

Churches and synagogues were also still allowed to give out wine, so enrolment in them increased sharply and the number of self-professed rabbis rose too.

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.⁶

But not everyone agrees. Historian David Courtwright claims prohibition really did reduce drinking by as much as 30%.⁷ And a 2003 study found deaths from liver cirrhosisScarring of the liver caused by long-term liver damage. It can be alcohol related. fell by 10 to 20%.⁸

The point of a ban, they argue, is not to stamp something out entirely. Of course some people will break the law if they really want to get their hands on the banned item. But most people do not have this burning desire.

So 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.

They also argue that many smokers use disposable vapes as a bridge to quit smoking altogether. Banning them might drive such people back to cigarettes.⁹

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 whim 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.

Ottoman - A member of the Turkish dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire.

Istanbul - A major city in Turkey, crossing both Europe and Asia.

Broadsword - An early modern European sword.

Rishi Sunak - A British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024.

Massachusetts - A state in the northeast USA.

Prohibition - A total ban. In the US, it refers to the period between 1920 and 1933 in which alcohol was banned.

Liver cirrhosis - Scarring of the liver caused by long-term liver damage. It can be alcohol related.