The consequence of prohibition is always crime

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Bhutan banned tobacco. They're about to repeal that ban (h/t Chris Snowdon):

Now the country’s Upper House resolves that ban on import of tobacco must end. In a majority resolution on Monday (3 February 2014), the house said ban on import and sale of tobacco products must end to control the black market.

And as the proposer of the change has put it:

But for the most of us, if we consume tobacco, we will continue to be doing so illegally. That would make us criminals. And because the penalties have now been staggered, expect a bigger black market; expect many more criminals.

Prohibition always, without exception, leads to crime. And the more that people want the product, the more crime. As we move to an age of control that approaches prohibition - for drink, for tobacco and maybe for some food products - remember that the more you tax, the more you exclude people from the market, the more you create a criminal world as the only way for those people to get what they want.

And it's a nasty world filled with violence, with don't care. A world where giving kids booze and fags isn't frowned upon but is a business opportunity. A world where the criminal slowly shoves aside the legitimate and where the complicity of so many in crime breaks down the relationship with the law.

So all you health fascists, be careful what you wish for in your wet dreams of controlling other folks personal choices.

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