The College Fix

Dar Wei-Chen, a columnist for my college newspaper, The Michigan Daily, had this to say on the subject of public health awareness campaigns:

Our current First Lady, Michelle Obama, has decided to tackle obesity, with a focus on children. …

First, no government official is trying to tell anyone how to live — Obama is merely suggesting how people can live healthier lifestyles and providing information on how to do it.

That’s a relief, because I was under the impression–a false one, apparently–that disfavored substances like cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine, drugs, and even kids’ Happy Meals were heavily regulated or banned outright. Here is my letter to the editor, which my friends at the Daily were kind enough to publish in today’s edition:

Chen may not be aware, but last November, the Food and Drug Administration proposed forcing cigarette companies to print pictures of dead and dying people on its products to deter smokers. Government officials in New York went a step further by requiring convenience store owners to post pictures of charred lungs and yellow teeth in shop windows. Opponents of the law sued on First Amendment grounds, it was struck down and the city appealed the decision.

What about Four Loko, the alcoholic energy drink that was regulated out of existence last year by the FDA? Government officials decided that no one should be allowed to consume the equivalent of a cup of coffee and a couple shots of Vodka. There’s also medical marijuana and its many users, who are still subject to federal SWAT team raids, even in states where the substance has been legalized.

But even if we remain within the bounds of Chen’s topic — obesity — we find prohibitionist government action. He might remember, for instance, the city of San Francisco banning McDonalds Happy Meals last year.

So not only are government officials telling us “how to live,” they are actively forcing us — at gunpoint if you’re the victim of a federal raid — not to drink, or eat, or smoke certain products.

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