Smoking Must Be Banned from All Public Places Essay

Smoking is an activity that has been around for many years for people to use and adapt into their lifestyle. It is a tool that many people use to help reduce the stresses of life and put them in a comfortable position that enables them to cope with the hectic lifestyle they are living. However, smoking has been scientifically proven to cause many types of cancer, the most common being lung cancer resulting in numerous deaths across the United States. According to BBC, "Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease" (BBC, 2). Evidently, the benefits and drawbacks of smoking have been debated for many years, and only recently have some countries have placed a ban in public places such as Britain and the United

Every year, there are over 400,000 smoking-related deaths in the United States. A large percentage of these are due to lung cancer, whose leading cause is smoking. However, not all deaths are smokers themselves. Anyone in the vicinity can fall victim to second hand smoke. These people, through no action of their own, can have their lives threatened.

Imagine yourself sitting down to dinner at a restaurant. You are sitting down trying to enjoy your dinner when all you can smell is smoke. Not only are you just breathing in the smoke, it is also damaging your body at the same time. Or imagine yourself at your work place, whether it be a restaurant or office, and you are forced to breathe in second-hand smoke the entire time you are there. In this paper you will be informed of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, and why smoking should be banned from all public places.

Unfortunately, it seems that people not only risk their life with every cigarette they smoke, but also affect everybody else who is around. Everybody can be affected by second-hand smoke.

One of the largest and most problematic health issues in our society is smoking. Smoking is currently the leading cause of death in our country, due to its harmful and addicting contents, such as nicotine and tobacco. Although millions die from it each year, smoking is the single most preventable cause of death as well. Without smoking, a tremendous amount of money and lives will be saved. I think that our country should ban smoking and the production of cigarettes in order to maintain a healthier nation, help save the environment, and prevent the almost 1000 deaths that they cause in fires each year.

Raising taxes on tobacco products and implementing smoking cessation legislations can minimize the prevalence of smoking up to 30 percent to 80 percent over a 50-year period (Ekpu & Brown 2015).In 2009, NBC news stated that Kansas, one of the states, considering banning smoking at enclosed areas showed that if they banned smoking in restaurants, the state was going to save 20 million dollars in healthcare costs (Associated Health, 2009). West Virginia state implemented smoke-free laws and had an increase of almost 1 percent in restaurant employment (“Smoke Free Laws do not Harm Business,” 2017). Restaurant workers were more comfortable coming in to work knowing they would be breathing in fresh air. Although in Tennessee, percentage of adults who smoked in 2011 increased from 23 percent to 24.3 percent in 2015 (Fletcher, 2016). This increment was not that significant considering the fact that it was over a period of just 4 years. The annual health care cost in Tennessee directly to smoking increased from $2.16 billion in 2004 to $2.67 billion in 2017(“The Toll of Tobacco in Tennessee”, n.d.).

According to 2006 United States' Surgeon General report, secondhand smoke is a cause for premature death and disease in children and non-smokers. In addition, children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, ear problems, acute respiratory infections, and severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children and to adults the secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Finally, the Surgeon General report states, “the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).“Third hand smoke is the name given to the toxic particles from cigarette smoke that settle onto surfaces in your home and remain long after smoking has ceased” (Heidtman, 2010), which means that even if a person smokes in the house when there is no one present the particles that state on the surfaces will still harm the health of the family that resides in the house. According to the Smoking-Related Fires in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) by the US Fire Administration,

Every day in America families’ gathers together to celebrate special events or the accomplishments of one of its members. Many times these special moments can be ruined or brought to an abrupt end due to others nearby smoking. Public spaces should be safe and accessible to all members of society to use without the inconvenience of someone else’s smoking ruining their outing or causing health issues to flare up such as, asthma. People do have the right to choose to smoke if they desire, but nonsmokers have the right to go out to public places with their family and not be exposed to harmful secondhand smoke. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke is just as harmful as smoking and leads to a higher occurrence of cancer and heart disease. Furthermore,

It is now known that secondhand smoke (SHS) is more toxic than firsthand smoke (FHS), posing a serious health risk to children who have no control over whether they are exposed or not. Additionally, a new potential health risk has been discovered: thirdhand exposure (THE). Thirdhand exposure occurs when nicotine and other chemicals from secondhand smoke deposit on surfaces, such as floors, walls, and tables. THE exists wherever nicotine has been smoked, creating multiple exposure routes and exposing people via. touch, ingestion, and inhalation2. Evidence has emerged showing that THE potentially poses similar health risks as SHS, but the public is skeptical about these

yet it is one of the most dangerous things you can do to yourself. Many people

Spending money on smoking is too much and leads to nothing, and there are no benefits that people can get from smoking. Smoking can hit personal finances and smokers are burning their money for no reason. Instead of using money to get cigarettes, people can donate to non-government organizations to wipe out poverty and change people’s lives. Smoking is a major factor that is destroying the environment. Smoking cigarettes is bad for the air. People who do not smoke have to breathe the bad air around the smokers. Smoking needs to be banned in public to let other people breathe the fresh air. Most Americans are exposed to outdoor and indoor air that can cause cancer and other serious health problems. Smoking is a serious problem that needs to be taken care of. If we want a strong environment, clean environment, and a good public health, we need to ban smoking once and for all.

Tobacco is one of the most widely-used recreational drugs in the world; mainly in the form of cigarettes, but also in cigars and pipes, and in combination with cannabis and marijuana in 'joints'. Although most countries put age restrictions on its use, over a billion adults smoke tobacco legally every day, and supplying this demand is big business. As well as having serious health consequences for smokers themselves, the pollution of other people's atmospheres with cigarette smoke also makes this an environmental issue. Attitudes have changed rapidly over the past twenty years. In the developed world, public opinion has shifted against smoking.

E-cigarettes have heating elements that are battery operated and hold cartridges of nicotine and other liquids and flavoring. They were produced to assist those who are trying to quit smoking or reduce the amount of nicotine that is actually inhaled in the body to make it a safer product for the consumer than actually smoking a cigarette. There is controversy on whether or not this product promotes a safer nicotine habit or stimulates someone to begin smoking habits. Most importantly, those who do not smoke at all are concerned whether or not the secondhand smoke emitted from these devices is harmful for those who do not wish to inhale nicotine products. There are states laws that

The tobacco industry kills more people in North America from Monday to Thursday of each week than the terrorists murdered in total on September 11, 2001. That sounds unrealistic, doesn’t it? Well, smoking is an epidemic that affects us all, whether you are a smoker or you aren’t. In order to stop this epidemic, we need to

Tobacco has been around for many years, and it should be stopped, but can the economy handle it. The tobacco is reaching young children, and not to mention the nonsmokers as well. The medical effects alone should convince people to stop smoking. Even if the people wanted to quit, it's hard because they are already addicted. If the health doesn't stop people from smoking the cost should because this year the tax on tobacco has gone up dramatically. So now the cost is weakening our pockets. The only ones that win in the tobacco field are the Tobacco Company, because they make all the money. If profits fall, all they have to do is advertise a little harder and profits will roll