The best way to abolish alcohol and tobacco products and their heinous effects on humanity is to impose a blanket ban on production and sales of these substances.

To what extent to do you agree or disagree with this?

There is no difference of opinion on the fact that alcohol and tobacco products kill. However, as these substances are as old as humans and their dependence on these hazards is a matter of addiction, I think a blanket ban on them would be counter productive.

Why is a blanket ban not possible? Reasons galore. Firstly, prohibition has always been a failure, and substance abuse is as old as human life itself. So we cannot think of an outright ban in a fine morning. Secondly, production and sales of these substances is a multibillion industry world over. This is a huge revenue earner and an employment provider. Which government would be prepared to forego such a cash cow in a day? Yes, if there is political will, blanket ban is possible. But it’ll be a huge ‘if’ indeed.

When it comes to strong political will, there are innumerable obstacles to tide over for governments. Initially, there needs to be relocating of employees who go jobless. This is not a simple job as the revenue from this industry is not in the pipeline any longer. Besides all these, how can governments compensate for the losses suffered by industrialists in this field? Needless to say, it would burn many hands world over. To cap it all, is it possible to take the whole world into confidence in this regard? There is hardly any room for such an option.

Therefore, I find it very difficult to support the view that a blanket ban is the only way out to keep the world free from substance abuse. Humans need to be intelligent enough to abstain from these health hazards which will be here so long as there is human life on this Planet. These hazards, like habits, never die out.

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