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Another Italian Job

A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke—unless you're driving.

Having banned smoking from so-called public spaces (including privately owned restaurants and bars) four years ago, Italy is now considering forbidding drivers to light up their cigarettes in the privacy of their own car. This rule will be part of a larger law amending the "codice della strada," the tens of thousands of commandments that govern Italian driving. The law is being discussed in the Italian Senate, and will be submitted for a vote this month.

Italy is following the lead of the tiny state of San Marino, where smoking while driving has been prohibited since 2008. Studies produced by a number of consulting firms then were produced as authoritative evidence. According to those studies, whereas answering a phone call draws our attention away from the task of driving for 2.1 seconds, 2.9 seconds are needed to collect the lighter and cigarette pack and 2.0 for lighting up. You could almost cross the whole small territory of a typical Italian village before a cigarette is properly lit.

Italian politicians quoted authorities from England, Ontario and even Bangor, Maine, as supporting their point. Driving smokers (or smoking drivers) have listened so far with amazement. As is usually the case with governmental crusades to uproot vice and undesirable behavior, observers are struck by the utter arbitrariness of the ban: The total of five seconds necessary to light up a cigarette doesn't seem any more of a distraction than changing CDs in the car stereo or programming a car's GPS navigator to a particular destination.

Likewise, isn't talk radio or music equally distracting? And what about flamboyant ads placed next to major highways? Scantily clad women in underwear advertisements are most likely responsible for a fair amount of Italian car accidents.

Truth be told, Italy's broad smoking ban has turned out to be a relatively popular measure. Defying the stereotype, Italy has been a trailblazer in this field, passing a law forbidding smoking in so-called public venues such as bars and restaurants five years ago. Why was the country of la dolce vita the first to renounce the pleasure of smoking after a meal or while enjoying a Negroni?

A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke, Rudyard Kipling famously wrote. Where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's preferences lie is beyond doubt. Therefore, a right-wing government could happily embrace a quintessentially politically correct cause such as the crusade against smoking. Since tobacco advertising on TV has been banned since 1991 all over Europe, Mr. Berlusconi, who made his fortune in television, for once was obviously free of any conflict of interest.

Four years later, there is evidence that he was correctly interpreting his people's sentiments. Italians liked the rule forcing smokers outside restaurants during dinner. While at the table, no cigarette or cigar—not to mention the gloomy sight of a pipe—is allowed. Fine food and great wines taste even better. And smokers generally appreciate the opportunity to socialize in small groups, enjoying the breeze outside a "trattoria."

But what about the costs? The new rule forced restaurant owners into the role of law enforcers: They are the unwilling smoke police. But in the case of the proposed driving law, the problem of enforcement is even more of a headache. Entrusting the driver with the responsibility of fining herself for abusive smoking in her own car is surely impossible. It is likewise problematic to picture an exhaustive surveillance network of all the cars on Italy's roads. We certainly don't want other drivers distracting themselves in order to place a call on their mobile phone to turn in a fellow driver.

Where is this trend headed? The U.K. government is also considering banning smoking in the vicinity of children, no matter where—including private houses. Alas, the "where" is a crucial part.

What governments are creeping toward is full sovereignty over citizens' private lives. Public health now seems to come before property rights. But how does this fit into the rules of a free society?

The existence of a space that is free from government intervention is the cornerstone of a free society. "On himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign," to quote John Stuart Mill. This presupposes the very existence of a space where such sovereignty could find a home: private property defines such a space.

The government doesn't own restaurants (luckily), nor cars besides those used by ministers and high civil servants. It can properly regulate their use to prevent a reckless or dangerous behavior. But assuming that lighting up a cigarette is a distraction seriously affecting other drivers pushes the notion of negative externalities too far—and the realm of personal privacy too far back.

Mr. Mingardi is director general of Istituto Bruno Leoni, Italy's free-market think-tank. A casual smoker, he doesn't own a car.

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