Can I play "The Sims" without the CD?

The most recent Sims game, "The Sims 3," requires a CD to play. EA Games lacks an official help page response for "The Sims" and "The Sims 2" regarding CD use.

When only the base game is installed, the base CD for "The Sims 3" needs to be used to start the game. When multiple expansion packs are installed, the most recently released expansion pack CD must always be used to start the game. For instance, if Late Night is the newest expansion and a player installs both Late Night and Seasons, the player must use Late Night to play the game even if he or she installed Seasons most recently.