The government is at it again, banning items willy-nilly. 

Under the authority of a new act, the Food and Drug Administration outlawed candy, fruit-flavored and clove cigarettes. The ban went into effect last week. And while it seems commonsensical — keeping kids off tobacco — it’s inconsistent and ass backward. 

Despite what way you sway on an adult’s right to smoke, eat, drink and do whatever they want to so long as it doesn’t harm anybody else, we don’t imagine anybody in their right mind believes children should have those same liberties. 

But that’s where the government seems to have overstepped. What a child is exposed to is the role of a parent or guardian, not our elected representatives and certainly not an administrative agency such as the FDA.

If the goal is to stop smoking all together, why doesn’t the government ban the toxins, the tar, the additives and the addictive Nicotene? Why take the back door and ban the natural flavors that are added to the tobacco? 

Is the government so blind or corrupt to ban arbitrary products to “protect” us against the actual harmful product that is regulated and taxed heavily by it? Not to mention the ill effects smoking has on the health care system. But apparently going after a “gateway” is a much easier way to feel righteous. 

Studies cited by the FDA and other news organizations show these “candy” flavored products are consumed more by minors. 

Minors aren’t the only group of people out there who enjoy fruit flavored products. Sure, Mike’s Hard Lemonade was lost on most people after their 21st birthday, and most adults who smoke every day smoke “regular” cigarettes. But that’s not to say that adults don’t consume these sweet flavored products. 

Honestly, who’s going to be addicted to strawberry-flavored cigarettes and smoke a pack of those a day? If it is an adult who enjoys an occasional fruity or clove cigarette, they should have the same opportunity to smoke them as adults who enjoy chain-smoking menthols. 

It’s simply a matter of misguided intentions. The things that are most dangerous, most likely to be consumed by those with addiction, are free and clear. While the things that are more likely to be recreational, are not allowed. 

If we really are concerned with addiction, then the addictive properties of products should be analyzed more closely, or public rehabilitation programs should be given more attention. 

If we continue to let our government outlaw products based on fear and a lack of understanding, then we are on a dangerous road. 

What’s next? A ban on Burnett’s blueberry vodka because it’s supposed to taste good? Classifying flavored beers so the taxes are high enough to deter minors like in Maine and Utah? 

Earth to the tax man, minors don’t pay bills, and rarely buy their own booze, so raising taxes on products that are appealing to them will only raise more money for the state. Besides, almost anything tastes good if there’s enough pop or juice mixed in. 

It doesn’t matter what the government tries to do to keep kids clean so long as they keep avoiding the most direct approach. And allowing them to get away with passing this type of legislation because we happen to agree that kids shouldn’t smoke isn’t right either. 

The more we let legislators use the back door to get what they want, the less effective we will be when we try to board it up.