Ssiy – very, very well said. I’m surprised no comments on your post.
Squeak, I agree wholeheartedly. The nicotine in cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc can be chemically addictive besides potentially life-threatening and a nuisance for others. Once started it is VERY hard to stop. I would point out though that there is such a thing as internet addiction – another danger of the internet besides content. While not chemically, biologically addictive, it can be a dependency that can be hard to break.
I don’t think that banning something out of hand is always the best route to guiding a large group people to do the right thing, especially if the cultural, philosophical and psychological makeup of said group is extremely diverse. Bans can at times (though not always) be a cop out, a quick, easy “solution” to a problem which often can be solved more effectively by targeted statements and activities while taking into account risk/reward assessment, trade-offs, opportunity costs, likelihood of acceptance, etc. It goes without saying that this requires more work and thought than learning of a new fad, item, activity or technology and slapping a ban on it. Often times items or activities are banned when advocates of these blanket bans may not be aware of or take into account how banning an item or activity will affect people’s lives in a myriad of ways.