One of the problems with Brussels is that bureaucrats rule the roost and attempt to regulate life beyond its recognition. The tiny Åland Islands (pop. 26,000) are now caught in a dispute with Brussels over a tradition in the islands called snus, a pouch of chewing tobacco.
The Åland Islands are located in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden. The Åland Islands are an autonomous region within Finland but ethnically the islanders are Swedes and speak Swedish. The chewing of snus is a Swedish tradition and Sweden received a waiver from health regulations over the practice when Sweden was admitted to the European Union. Finland did not receive such a waiver and the bureaucrats in Brussels are attempting to enforce pan-European regulations in the Åland Islands that are Finnish yet not Finnish as the islands are autonomous as well as ethnically Swedish with Swedish customs. More from Brussels Journal.
It is issues like this one that lead to pan-Europe proposals being voted down across Europe. The EU bullies, aka bureaucrats, have been picking on the Åland Islands for quite some time. It’s time for this nonsense to stop. I say this as a liberal because I agree with my conservative friends that this is liberalism run amok. Government is legislating us to death over silliness destroying age-old traditions and ways of life. Not everyone wants to live in London or San Francisco.
This past week the city government of San Francisco passed a law preventing drug chains from selling tobacco arguing that pharmacies should not be in the business of selling cancerogenic products. I hope Walgreens and Rite Aid sue the city. (Disclosure: I own shares of Walgreens) but the city fails to understand that these chains are really two businesses, a front-end and a pharmacy. Walgreens describes its front-end as a “Seven-Eleven on steriods” which is what it is. In San Francisco, Walgreens is both a convenience store and a pharmacy. The city does not have the right to tell Walgreens that it cannot sell cigarettes. Liberalism run amok and frankly you’re giving liberalism a bad name.