In On Liberty , John Stuart Mill laid a liberal foundation that most democracies embrace
Tobacco sales will shift underground, ciggies bootlegged at exorbitant rates will further cash-strap smokers, organised crime will step into the breach to bolster supply, the rebellious at heart will take up smoking to protest tar totalitarianism, and so on
But there is still so much work to be done
Dr Brendan Gogarty, of the University of Tasmania, wrote in The Conversation in 2016 that while smoking represents a significant social danger, the legislative response to social risks must be evidence-based and considerate of constitutional limits and civil rights
These products are generally safer than cigarettes because they do not burn tobacco, and it is tobacco smoke, not nicotine, that causes most of the harmful effects of cigarettes
Under the new regulation, that would fall to less than one milligram