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Smoking Banning Public Areas Yield Positive Effects For All

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Smoking Bans in Public Areas Yield Positive Effects For All
One of the major reasons for death and preventable diseases is tobacco use. Just in the United States of America, smoking has found to be the cause of “over 40,000 deaths due to heart disease and over 200,000 episodes of childhood asthma per year” (Naiman et al 1). Some of these cases could be specifically linked to secondhand smoke, “defined as an involuntary exposure to a combination of diluted cigarette side stream smoke and the exhaled smoke from smokers” (Naiman et al 1). Greenwald found that “by 2015, 36 states and 4,177 municipalities in the USA had enacted law that restricted where smoking was allowed” (101). Smoking in public places should not be allowed because …show more content…

While at the same rate smokers who supported bans also reported having attempted to quit in the last twelve months than those who did not support any of the laws. The implication here is that if one is trying to quit smoking, attending bars, restaurants, or other public areas that are smoke free have a positive effect on quitting by reducing exposure to the smell and other smokers which can increase the urge to smoke when trying to quit. However, certain studies have argued the opposite effect. Greenwald research found that, “smokers generally appeared to visit bars more often, stay at bars longer, and consume more drinks than their non-smoking counterparts” (103). At the same token this benefits non-smokers who also attend such venues because they are not exposed to secondhand smoke. Here we see that smoke bans are a win-win for those affected by smoking directly and indirectly.
As a second point, to explore the benefits of smoking bans and the links to lower hospitalizations for heart attacks and lung disease. Vander Weg and her team recognized that, “exposure to secondhand smoke is recognized as an important contributor to premature morbidity and mortality” (2699). Among adults, secondhand smoke increases the risk for heart and lung disease while also highlighting possible causation for other respiratory health issues such as adult-onset asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study “investigated the association

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