Liberal view on cigarette ban is based on class snobbery

Many disenchanted Tories have argued that a lifetime ban on buying cigarettes for people born after 2009 is “unconservative”. In their fury with Rishi Sunak, they’re overlooking something. The sheer hypocrisy of so many liberals.

Take the Lib Dems. Sir Ed Davey, their leader, voted in favour of the ban. So did Daisy Cooper, who speaks for them on health.

At the same time, though, their party continues to campaign for the legalisation of cannabis. “The Liberal Democrats,” declares their website, “want to introduce a legal, regulated market for cannabis.” Yet senior party figures have effectively just voted to end a legal, regulated market for tobacco.

This nakedly contradictory position has become widespread among liberals in general. Essentially, their argument is: “We must ban the smoking of one plant, because it’s bad for your health – but legalise the smoking of another plant, even though it’s bad for your health. Also, legalising the smoking of the second plant will be good for the public finances, because the Treasury will gain lots of money in taxes. But we must still ban the smoking of the first plant, even though the Treasury will lose lots of money in taxes.”

In the eyes of modern liberals, smoking tobacco is frightfully lower class. It’s for Sun-reading, Brexit-voting, Red Wall-dwelling gammon. Smoking cannabis is fine, because it’s popular with university-educated Guardian readers. It’s pure class snobbery.