The day before my motion to establish an inquiry into the nanny state passed the Senate, the NSW Parliament enacted legislation that means e-cigarettes will be treated in the same way as tobacco products. The new laws not only restrict the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, but prevent them being advertised and displayed.

It is already illegal to sell e-liquids containing nicotine in Australia, despite nicotine being safe enough to use in patches and gums – standard quitting aids that, incidentally, are heavily advertised. The new laws will send vaping shops broke, while smokers will lose access to probably the most effective quitting aid of all.

The NSW Parliament has enacted legislation that means e-cigarettes will be treated in the same way as tobacco products. Credit:AP

All this reinforced the need for an inquiry.

Public health policy is now way beyond its original remit and has become a form of puritanism. Much of the opposition to e-cigarettes arises from the fact that they are pleasant to use. Like the puritans of yore, public health mandarins are haunted by the thought that someone, somewhere, is having a good time.