Legislation or Education?

I've been wondering recently, what is more effective, legislation or education? We see NY City's Mayor Bloomberg proposing limits to the size of soft drinks and shake our heads. I think intuitively that we know it's an initiative doomed to fail.

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On the other hand, education on the dangers of the behavior, over time, are much more effective. Smoking and texting while driving are great examples. One is legal but not smart, the other, in many states, is neither legal or smart. In the case of smoking, legislated warnings on labels have had minimal effectiveness. One Canadian study showed no reduction in smoking after 7 years of warning labels. The education on texting and driving continues. Marijuana use is illegal, yet numbers for marijuana users remains relatively consistent. But there are few educational programs about it on mainstream media. It seems a strong argument can be made for education versus legislation. We cannot write, finance or police enough laws to force people into responsible behavior. Education and positive reinforcement is the formula for success. The layers upon layers upon layers of laws simply costs a lot of money with minimal results. Carolyn Brown Englewood, FL

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