Legislation and the Art of Unintended Consequences

If you smoke you have started to notice over the last few months that your cigarettes have been burning out if you leave them unintended for a short period of time. This is due to a new piece of legislation that is sweeping the country requiring all cigarette manufactures to put additive or thicker paper on smokes to prevent fires.

The intended consequence is that 1000 lives will be saved each year by passing this bill.

huh?

A few years back the government sued the tobacco companies for billions of dollars for making unsafe products.

One of the more interesting cases was that the government said Light Cigarettes were misleading because people thought they were safer but in reality people inhaled deeper increasing there risk of death and dependency.

Guess what the legislation above is going to do?

Increase people inhaling deeper and give rise to greater dependency.

Good job legislation you have just saved a 1000 lived at the expense of 50,000 lives I think you need a raise. It is legislative mass murder.

Maybe the world is better off since now people can sue the government for legislating additives and making cigarettes more unsafe.

Maybe the unintended consequence of this, besides another 50,000 people dying, is that I have a seven figure settlement in the future.