[xrp]

Transfats are very harmful to a person's health. Also, they are totally unnecessary.

Just like cigarettes. Should those be banned also?

However, when we eat out, we never know what restaurants fry their french fries, fried chicken, etc.

Uhm...have you tried asking? If I am trying a new dish at a restaurant, I ALWAYS ask "how is this prepared?"

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

I have never smoked, but I hear that tobacco can be pleasurable. Still, I must admit to dispising tobacco. My Mom is near death due to COPD from smoking since she was 18.
Banning Transfats is easier than tobacco and more justified. Banning Transfats would not be noticed by anyone, except that perhaps the restaurants might incur small cost increases. Canola oil cost a little more. However, the benefits are significant for the little cost. With tobacco, people would have no substitute for tobacco.

I have asked restaurants to tell me what kind of oils and butters they use. NONE have felt the need to tell me. I either get a strange look from the waitress or an refusal to even inquire. Sometimes they come back and say that they don't know.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Just like cigarettes. Should those be banned also?

Maybe so.... It is the only product on the market that when used as directed will likely kill you.