Hostis humani generis
This graph, from Public Radio International, may help illustrate why public-health people have such a different attitude to business and economics people on cigarette plain packaging
Economists worry about whether plain packaging is effective in reducing smoking, and whether the costs it imposes in New Zealand are out of proportion to the benefits. Other businesses may worry that the idea will spread.
Public health advocates are genuinely mystified by this. They regard tobacco as unique, and tobacco companies as among the common enemies of humankind, to be wiped out as expeditiously as is possible without too much collateral damage.
Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests include semiparametric models, survey sampling, statistical computing, foundations of statistics, and whatever methodological problems his medical collaborators come up with. He also blogs at Biased and Inefficient See all posts by Thomas Lumley »