Lost in the numbers, no common sense...

Hit & Run > Trans Fat Prohibitionist to Head CDC - Reason Magazine:

"When it comes to justifying the use of force, there is a crucial difference between health risks imposed by others (such as bioterrorists or TB carriers) and health risks that people voluntarily assume (by smoking or overeating, for example). In the former case, even those who believe that government should be limited to protecting individual rights can see a strong argument for intervention; in the latter case, intervention can be justified only on paternalistic or collectivist grounds. Frieden either does not recognize or does not care about this distinction...

For contemporary public health officials, it's all about the numbers. The aim is to minimize total morbidity and mortality, whatever their cause. This calculus leaves no room for freedom of choice."