Here’s a new bill in Congress that strikes me as a peculiar encroachment on freedom. H.R. 5912 would amend the U.S. code to make cigarettes and certain other tobacco products nonmailable. Undoubtedly, this would make it a teensy bit harder for some people to smoke and chew tobacco.

More importantly, I think, it would deepen the role of the Postal Service in surveillance and enshrine the USPS a part of our niggling nanny state.

Does this bill affect you directly? Chances are it doesn’t, as few people send or receive cigarettes in the mail. But what happens tomorrow when you’re part of a disfavored group?

The bill’s sponsor is Rep. John McHugh (R‑NY) who today features on his homepage House passage of a bill to establish a thing called the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Commemoration Commission.