Draconian bans are no way to treat citizens amid a pandemic
Diktats about alcohol and cigarettes serve no greater good but simply push people into black market trade
In liberal democracies, governments rule by consent, not diktat. When elected leaders overstep and implement rules that make no sense while imposing unnecessary hardship on citizens, this consent gets withdrawn. Disobedience and unrest can very quickly replace compliance.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced governments into areas of our lives that, in normal circumstances, would frighten us, but which most reluctantly accept because right now they are necessary. Nothing is normal any more. Until we have a vaccine (or even an effective treatment regimen) we are helpless against this new threat. True, most of us would recover from Covid-19, but millions would not, and that would be too high a price to pay for continuity...
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