Запрещать или не запрещать: табак и права человека в XXI веке

Закон. 2024. № 12. С. 49–55.

Parshenko V.

In modern society, there are many debates about the balance of human rights and responsibilities. On the one hand, any individual has the freedom of choice and action when making decisions that are known to be harmful to himself, on the other hand, this freedom is not infinite, so often the realisation of these or those rights and freedoms meets obstacles on its way. One of the topical issues of our time is human health in the context of the question of whether it is a right or an obligation to “be healthy”. The coronavirus pandemic has already highlighted this aspect and showed that not always a person can freely dispose of his health, and even more so, he should take into account how his actions can affect the health of others. The article proposes to analyse the current topic of balancing the rights of smokers, the rights of non-smokers exposed to alleged harm from passive smoking, the rights and obligations of representatives of the business community and the interests of the state both in the health of the population and in material tax benefits. Based upon the example of New Zealand’s unsuccessful attempt to introduce a complete ban on the sale of nicotine-containing products to new generations, possible legal measures to reduce the popularity of smoking, their prospective effectiveness and the likely risks of radical changes and bans are examined.

Keywords: права человека, запреты и ограничения, права и свободы