Peter Hitchens no longer as libertarian as he once was

From: I was wrong on cigarettes but believe me, I’m right on cannabis

I used to fall for the old arguments about smoking and freedom – that people were entitled to do this stupid thing if they wanted to. I may even have used the expression ‘nanny state’, though I try very hard to avoid it now. Sometimes even grown-ups need a bit of nannying.

I even campaigned, in an office I worked in, against a planned smoking ban, though I have never smoked myself. I was quite wrong. It is perfectly sensible and justifiable to use the law to try to stop people from harming themselves, unless there are very good reasons for the risk. Because when you harm yourself, you harm plenty of other people too.