Australia is often lauded as a world leader in mainstream tobacco control. But on the ground, things are descending into chaos. New from me at Reason:

Since March of last year, the Australian state of Victoria has been rocked by a series of arsons and firebombings. Some of the targets are victims of extortion; others are caught in an escalating turf war between rival gangs. Two men with links to organized crime have been publicly murdered, one in a broad-daylight shooting at a shopping mall in a Melbourne suburb. Violent conflict is not unexpected in organized crime, but what is unusual is the drug at the center of this conflict: nicotine.

E-cigarettes are already only legally available with a prescription, though widely sold illicitly. The government is now on the verge of passing a bill to penalize suppliers of e-cigarettes with up to seven years in prison. Deadly cigarettes, meanwhile, remain freely available, if exorbitantly taxed. Read the whole thing.