There has been much criticism of Banzhaf's work and of Banzhaf personally.
Many critics are uneasy about his use of litigation. Rick Berman, executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a food trade group, said, "He's using the judicial process for PR value."[14] George Landrith, president of the conservative think
tank Frontiers of Freedom Institute said "He's abusing the court system".[8]
Banzhaf has been accused of ignoring or destroying the concept of personal responsibility. For example, in 2006 Ezra Levant wrote in the National Post, "Banzhaf was the health-law strategist who destroyed the concept of personal responsibility when it came to smoking."[15] But Banzhaf denies that there has been any loss of personal responsibility. He was quoted in 2003 in the Hartford Courant saying, [11]
Is there a sudden loss of personal responsibility? No—because we would see it in other areas: sudden increases in drunkenness, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse deaths. Clearly there is no decline in personal responsibility.
Writer Richard Kluger is critical of Banzhaf's organizational skills, saying that
he has failed to build up ASH as a strong organization because he was unwilling to share the spotlight with others, and that
ASH was a vehicle for Banzhaf to make appearances before Congress and on television.[10]:310,506
Adrian Brune, writing in 2005 in American Lawyer, said that Banzhaf's chief legal foe is the Frontiers of Freedom Institute's George Landrith.[8] A few years ago the Institute launched a web site, banzhafwatch.com, devoted to recording all available information about Banzhaf and his activities.[8] The site's slogan was "Keeping an eye on the man who wants to sue America". The site went inactive in mid-2006,[16] and the Institute may have lost interest in Banzhaf.
Reason, a libertarian magazine, gives Banzhaf much critical attention. For example, in a 2002 article, Charles Paul Freund wrote that Banzhaf did not win any victories over the
tobacco companies, that he specializes in "using the courts to hurt relatively powerless people," and that the issue for Banzhaf is "the terrifying possibility that somewhere there are people enjoying themselves." [17]
Pro-smoking websites and blogs such as FORCES[18] carry much critical comment about Banzhaf.
