Despite studies showing that people have a limited amount of willpower, after which they revert to habit?

I would think HNers of all people would understand the idea of abstraction and information hiding. We have so many parts of our lives that to try to get a complete understanding of even one of them is pretty complicated.

What's the best toothpaste to buy if I want white teeth? Will it hurt my enamel? What about gingivitis? What about tooth brush hardness? What about flossing? What's the proper technique? Should I do it before or after I brush?

And that's just dental hygiene.

So yes, while this libertarian ideal of "the free market solves everything" and "fuck the consumer if they won't educate themselves" is nice in theory, in practice it's not effective public policy. It simply isn't possible to be completely informed on everything that goes into every part of our lives -- if you actually want to live, that is.

that doesnt mean there's a better option though. what else are we gonna do, have some committee tell us which toothpaste to use?

Basic regulations about what makes a toothpaste fit to sell is a good start.

It's extremely unwise to assume that someone has the ability to research every topic in front of them in enough detail to make an informed decision, though.