Prohibition is the default position of government when any new drug is developed.

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Orkambi is a drug that many Cystic Fibrosis sufferers consider may help them.
People cannot legally purchase Orkambi, and many other drugs, sometimes for years due to government bureaucracies.

People have the right to use any drug that they consider might improve their health, life enjoyment - or even their death.

The state has a role in deciding which drugs to subsidise, and which drugs to tax, but they should not prevent people from purchasing.

Every increase in safety is at the cost of freedom.

If we protect fools from themselves, we end up living in a fools paradise. Unfortunately, some health advocates have no idea of this trade off, or have no respect for freedom.

Medical evangelists see third hand smoke as a new way to control us.

Just when you might have been thinking the tobacco prohibitionists are a bit hysterically unbalanced along comes an article that warns that the danger isn't just to high volume smokers, or occassional smokers, or those who might inhale the odd waft of second hand smoke, but to babies through third hand smoke. The article puffs up speculation as conclusion: "new findings" "surfaces contaminated with nicotine, putting infants at risk." Then the potential risk is extended by reference to other unsourced "studies" showing that THS (ohh yes, the acronym makes it sound so much more official) can damage DNA.

At least, the Medscape article provides a link to the actual study. One hopes that at least some readers will follow the link to find that the study involves 5 mothers and their babies. Yes, 5. The "study" found only that substances were detectable in surfaces and bloods. No indication that the levels were consistent with damage. The study was also published by a site, Tobacco Control that exists to spin research on this topic alone.

Tobacco consumption is a very well known and documented risk, but the fanaticism around second hand smoke, and now it seems around third hand smoke leads to shoddy science and calls for ever increasing and unwarranted social control.