NEWS BULLETIN: King County Board of Health passed a controversial proposal to ban the drinking of root beer in public. Health officials reasoned that the fake beer, which contains no alcohol, is so similar to real beer that it may cause people to think it's OK to drink alcohol in public. And that may lead to more alcoholism and traffic accidents, officials said. Officials also worried that enforcement officials would be confused, since the beverage comes in brown glass bottles, just like the real thing.
The above story is, of course, ficticious, but it does illustrate the type of reasoning employed to justify the unjustifiable. Banning root beer drinking would do no harm. But forcing former smokers to go to the smoking area to use the product that helps them to stay smoke-free could be hazardous to their health. The ban also removes a powerful incentive for continuing smokers to make the switch to a product that is much safer for both the user and for those around the user.