Policy Elite believes people can rationally decide to consume tobacco (hurt themselves) but not decide to social distance (hurt others)
I think this is basically the answer although I don’t know if positing a secret cabal of Policy Elites adds anything. At least in the US, we’ve done things to prevent smokers from hurting other people (i.e. banning smoking in bars and restaurants) but there’s not as much political will to prevent smokers from hurting themselves.
I don’t think I qualify as “policy elite”, but my thoughts are along these lines. When I see a smoker, I see someone who is behaving stupidly with their own health and possibly as endangering mine, as a threat, not as someone I have any sympathy for. Whereas covid is not a choice, it often hits people who have done nothing wrong its victims can properly be called victims, they are much more sympathetic.
No one said they were a secret cabal or anything. I’m not ascribing any collective agency to us other than mostly reading the same newspapers and books.
I think this is basically the answer although I don’t know if positing a secret cabal of Policy Elites adds anything. At least in the US, we’ve done things to prevent smokers from hurting other people (i.e. banning smoking in bars and restaurants) but there’s not as much political will to prevent smokers from hurting themselves.
I don’t think I qualify as “policy elite”, but my thoughts are along these lines. When I see a smoker, I see someone who is behaving stupidly with their own health and possibly as endangering mine, as a threat, not as someone I have any sympathy for. Whereas covid is not a choice, it often hits people who have done nothing wrong its victims can properly be called victims, they are much more sympathetic.
No one said they were a secret cabal or anything. I’m not ascribing any collective agency to us other than mostly reading the same newspapers and books.