Every decade or so, a new demon occupies the attention of the crusaders for public health. Recently, that demon has been trans fats. For the most part, trans fats are found hydrogenated vegetable oils — namely shortening and margarine. But since the consumption of trans fats has been linked to high cholesterol and heart disease, in 2007, New York City banned the use of trans fats in all restaurants, including fast food fryers, a place where trans fatty oil was preferred because it had a long shelf-life.

Based on the logic that smoking is optional but breathing is mandatory, as of 2012, twenty-seven states have instituted state-wide smoking bans in all indoor public places including restaurants and bars. Five hundred college campuses nationwide are completely smoke-free, both indoors and out. Some places have banned smoking in all public parks and beaches.

Five years into the trans fat ban, and many New Yorkers are still fat. Not to be discouraged, Mayor Bloomberg proposed a ban on all sugary drinks (a.k.a. soda) being sold in containers larger than 16 ounces. The proposal caused a great deal of controversy. While some citizens see nothing wrong with the ban, fast food restaurants and soda manufacturers have issued public statements against what they see as Mayor Bloomberg's nannying.

In 2011, Maryland parents were perplexed to learn they needed to sign a consent form so that their child could wear sunscreen at summer camp. A new law prohibited camp counselors from applying sunscreen to their chargers and even discouraged campers from helping each other to apply sunblock. Ignoring the dangers of sunburn and skin cancer, the law was meant to limit the opportunity for inappropriate touching at camp. A reasonable parent told The Washington Post that he didn't think the law could be serious. "I mean, if I didn't feel safe about the camp, I just wouldn't send my kids there," said the father.

In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring all chain restaurants to provide calorie information along with the price of the food they're serving. This latest state interference in the restaurant business is ostensibly to allow consumers to make a more informed choice about what they're eating. Some studies have shown that younger consumers ignore the calorie count, while older ones often find it confusing. An iced vanilla latte for only 1.90? Oh, wait, 190 calories. The cup of coffee is still 4 bucks.

For over 100 years, most of the milk that makes it into your refrigerator has been pasteurized, or super-heated to kill any bacteria it may contain. There are those who believe that this super-heating also destroys many of milk's health benefits. They argue that tested raw milk it is just as safe as the pasteurized stuff. The FDA and CDC disagree. In California, officials went undercover to infiltrate raw milk rings and have arrested a raw milk producer. Some in the natural foods community fear that door-to-door raids to forcibly remove raw milk products from refrigerators are next.

The current penchant for skinny jeans hasn't stopped a certain portion of the male population from wearing their pants somewhere between their hips and knees. Police officers like this fashion -- it makes it harder for perpetrators to run away. But other community leaders are offended by the low riders. Tennessee passed making it a punishable offense to expose underwear or wear clothing in an "indecent manner," a fashion crime punishable by a $250 fine or 160 hours of community service.

Massachusetts has been working to combat childhood obesity, removing vending machines from school hallways and potato chips from the lunch line. But banning bake sales? Currently, the law prohibits junk food on school grounds during the day, but some are pushing to make the ban a 24/7 operation. This would mean that school groups would no longer be allowed to raise money (to play healthy sports) by selling baked goods. Counterintuitive, draconian, or both, this proposed law has nothing on North Carolina's oversight...

New Jerseyians seem to have difficulty prying their eyes away from the phone long enough to check for oncoming traffic. That is why the town of Fort Lee, NJ, has decided to fine pedestrians $85 for every time they text and jaywalk.

At preschools in North Carolina, all children are required to have a balanced lunch consisting of one serving of meat, dairy and grain, plus two servings of fruits or vegetables. This regulation covers cafeteria lunches and those brought from home. In order to enforce this regulation, there are actually government employees whose job it is to travel to various preschool and daycare centers and look in preschoolers' lunch boxes and force parents to pay to supplement their child's "unhealthy" lunch.

Only in the Midwest would you find the state regulating tidiness. "A truck or other vehicle whose wheels or tires deposit mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or other material on any street or highway" is considered to be a public nuisance and therefore punishable by a fine of up to $2000. While keeping the streets clean is all well and good, this law essentially means that you owe the state big bucks if you don't wash your car.

In San Francisco, McDonald's is no longer allowed to reward children for eating a calorie-laden meal with a toy. The city law requires restaurants to create children's meals that have fruits and vegetables, less than 600 calories, and no excessively sugary drinks before they can market to children through the use of a toy. McDonald's has expressed their displeasure at San Francisco's new law, but has yet been able to meet its requirements so it can sell Happy Meal toys in the City by the Bay.

Several cities are working hard to ensure their citizens learn how to recycle properly. In Cleveland, RFID tracking chips are placed in all recycling bins so that the city knows just how often its residents are taking out the recycling. If the bin is not moved often enough, a public servant will sort your trash for you, for a $100 fee, of course.

Part of the American dream used to be having your 2.5 kids set up a lemonade stand in front of your white picket fence. But no longer. From Maryland to Missouri, children vending Girl Scout cookies and lemonade in their front lawns have been shut down for violating various city ordinances regulating the sale of commodities or vending in particular locations. In Bethesda, a lemonade stand was going to be fined $500 for operating without a permit before common sense prevailed.