> If caffeine was illegal you and I wouldn't have acquired such addiction, so there is a very big + to prohibition
This hypothetical is not in evidence.
This hypothetical is not in evidence.
You don't get an addiction to a substance that has never been near your body.
Making a product legal increases its availability, affordability and reach. So, the number of people exposed.
Really, a prohibition argument made with a straight face?
North American governments famously failed to maintain a ban on alcohol. How well do you think they'd fare with trying to ban sales of caffeine, given it's reach is greater (and far more socially-accepted) than alcohol?
Don't forget the vast selection of caffeinated pop/soda, energy drinks, etc. You're talking about a wide ban here, as this is one of the world's favourite drugs, covering a very popular array of beverages. If you're daft enough to propose it, I suspect you'd be laughed out of the halls of legislatures.
Regulation of caffeine levels in energy drinks and pop is probably an easier sell, and some jurisdictions already do this.