Lancet calls for tobacco to be made illegal

The Lancet called on Tony Blair's government last week to make tobacco an illegal substance, but it attracted little support to its cause (2003;362: 1865).

The unsigned editorial first discussed the question of banning smoking in public places. It pointed out that the government had been condemned, in a letter to the Times (25 Nov, p 19) by the leaders of the 18 royal colleges, for not introducing such a …