by Thomas Humber

About the author: Thomas Humber is president and CEO of the National Smokers Alliance, an organization that opposes discrimination against smokers.

In 1995, the National Smokers Alliance ran a series of national ads, the principal theme of which was “Defending smokers’ rights protects everyone’s.” The ads had multiple purposes, including social experiment. They referred to the “extremism of the life-style police,” and, judging by calls and mail we received from antismokers, extremism is too mild a term.

The callers were abusive, obscene, and, on occasion, threatening. Some were dismaying in their ignorance. Most were chilling in their arrogant certitude and elitism. One citizen of our free society scrawled “Kill all smokers” and similar comments across the ads in blood red ink and...