Jump to full article: News Interactive Network/News Limited/News.com (au), 2008-07-04
Author: Simon Chapman
Intro: YOU need a licence to drive. A licence to buy a gun. You can't legally go fishing without a licence, or own a dog. But smoking?
Provided you are over 18 you can buy as many cigarettes as you like - no questions asked. Why not license smokers?
After all, doctors issue tens of thousands of temporary licences every day in the form of prescriptions . . .
And, just as for a driving licence, smokers would need to renew their commitment to smoking every five years. Or, if a smoker successfully quit they could permanently surrender their licence and be offered a full refund of their licensing fee, another incentive to quit.
Most smokers want to quit. . . .
Even tobacco companies should love the idea because no one could sue, saying they didn't know the risks they were taking: they would have passed the test.
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