The Negative Consequences Of Public Smoking

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.

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,

An exploration of a contemporary public health issue using epidemiology. To appraise the chosen health promotion intervention in relation to the public health issue, designed to improve health and wellbeing.

Smoking is established as a recognized cause of cancer, lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke(US Public Health Service,1964,Doll R 1976,1994, US Department of Health and Human Services,1989).it is considered to be the single most important avoidable cause of premature morbidity and mortality in the world. WHO has estimated that there are about 1100 million smokers worldwide; this represents about one-third of the global population aged over 15 years (WHO,1997). About 73% of these smokers (700 million males, 100 million females) are in developing countries; in industrialized countries there are 200 million male smokers and 100 million female smokers. In the over 15-year-old population of developing countries, it is estimated that about 48% of males and 7% of females are smokers. The corresponding figures for industrialized countries are 42% for males and 24% for females (WHO,1997).

Smoking is an activity in the society that has become a serious topic as it causes health problems to both smokers and passive smokers due to the inhalation of tobacco. Consequently, the most visible alternative for the legislators and other institutions in various countries is the banning of smoking in public. Smoking is not only a social habit that does harm non-smokers but it also takes away their freedom from being forced to inhale the contents of the cigarettes. Nowadays, many developed countries around the world enacted laws and established rules against smoking in public areas as a consequence of effecting "second smokers" especially children and babies. Banning should be considered the possible solution to this problem.

As he is pulling out his lighter and lighting the cigarette. There is a little boy sitting at the table next to him. The man just say to himself “ It's ok to smoke if everyone else is.” As the littler boy breathes in th3e smoke not only the smoke is unhealthy but the smoke is also increasing the chance for the little boy to have cancer. How would you react if that boy was your son? This brings up the debate on banning smoking in public. There are many pros and cons of banning smoking in public.

-U.S Department of Health and Human ServicesThroughout the United States, smoking has become very popular amongst all ages. Smoker’s have become very open and public about the issue. But as time goes on, smoker’s are starting to smoke in public. Many people are unbothered by this, but others are disturbed. They are mostly cautious about smoking in public because many have health problems that can be triggered by smoking. Although I can’t tell you what to do with your body, I still believe that smoker’s should not have the right to smoke in public places. One reason is that you introduce others to secondhand smoking. Another

I’ve decided to analyze the negative externalities that come from cigarette smoking, particularly the negative externality of second hand smoking, in which a non-smoker, therefore a non-buyer and non-seller, is still inhaling smoke and suffering from it. "Worldwide, 40% of children, 33% of male non-smokers, and 35% of female non-smokers were exposed to second-hand smoke in 2004. This exposure was estimated to have caused 379000 deaths from ischaemic heart disease, 165000 from lower respiratory infections, 36900 from asthma, and 21400 from lung cancer."(Öberg, 2010). Due to this negative externality, if there is no government intervention, then cigarettes will be overproduced from what is socially optimal.

Do you know anyone that has/does suffer from a smoking related issue, that has never even touched a cigarette in their life? The problems that develop from smoking a cigarette are widely known and many people think it is harmful to smoke, but people never think about the harmful effects from inhaling second-hand smoke. Many smokers smoke in public areas every day. Not only are they inhaling all of the deadly chemicals, but so is everyone else around them. Being around a smoker too often and inhaling all of the chemicals and tobacco from them, can cause you to get many types of cancers and possibly even cause death. For these reasons, smoking in public places should be one hundred percent prohibited (Smoking).

Moreover, smoking particularly adversely affects women's reproductive health, and smoke exposure on children has had detrimental and some sometimes fatal effects on children. Many studies have examined and outlined the adverse effects of maternal smoking on both the mother as well as on the baby and/or infant ( Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003 & Woolbright 1994). Many states such as Alabama required documentation on birth certificates of tobacco use of mothers (Woolbright, 1994). Despite the Surgeon general's warning that maternal smoking may result in premature birth, fetal injury, or dangerously low birth rate, fifteen to thirty-seven percent of pregnant women still smoke (Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003). Mothers who smoke

Smoking is an uncouth habit, and it does not discriminate between tobacco cigarette, bhang or shisha, all of these substances are often considered as drugs that can cause addiction. The smoke emitted from these drugs cause environmental pollution. Besides, they also lead to some harmful diseases to humans (Hyyppä, 2010). Some chronic conditions like lung cancer emanate from smoking, and it predisposes the users to various life conditions like heart diseases. There exist two types of tobacco that are deeply rooted in this world.

Should someone be able to smoke in a public place? Some people believe it should be banned and others argue that its violates their freedom. The people for this ban argue that it effects the people around them in a negative way. The people against want to just smoke out in public. Although there is strong evidence that second hand smoke has severe health While out right banning smoking is wrong, there should be a certain limitation of where you can do it so you won’t affect others.

Society has been faced with many social struggles since the beginning of time. Smoking cigarettes is just one of those many social challenges. Individuals who smoke cigarettes increase the risk of developing health issues. Advertising has decreased over the years but the investment is with those that started when advertising was a big deal. Finally, the chemicals put into cigarettes are designed to increase a person’s cravings for cigarettes making it harder to stop smoking. With all the billions of dollars spent on advertising and creating a friendly product, long term use causes negative effects on a person such as cancer.

Think about it, “isn’t having a smoking section in a restaurant like having a peeing section in a swimming pool?” “Why do drugstores make sick people walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front?” There have been debates and different opinions on whether smoking in public places is an issue or not. Of course, smokers would support and affirm their right to smoke where they please. As opposed to the other view, that smokers violate the non-smoker’s rights, and puts them at risk. The U.S. has funded an extensive amount of money in advertisement to quit smoking, making most Americans aware of the potential risks of smoking. What’s the result of smoking? Coffin. Smoking is the leading cause of lung and heart cancer, stated to cause those diseases in 90% of smokers. A significant number of cancers seen in people who don’t smoke can be pointed at the smokers. New York has place designated areas in public places to adhere to the smokers individual rights to smoke where they please. Some believe it is their constitutional right to smoke in public places while others suggest to ban smoking in public places altogether. The ones who want to ban smoking in public places worry about second-hand smoke, which put people who don’t smoke in danger of cancer, and pollutes the area. Smokers suggest they have been allowed to smoke where they pleased for years, and because of that shouldn’t be banned in public places.

Some individuals smoke inside their own home, which is completely their choice. Entering into a public place while smoking affects complete strangers by forcing them to breathe in the toxins from the cigarette. The smoker has a filter at the end of the cigarette; the innocent bystander has nothing but toxic smoke to inhale. According to Opposing View Points, “To protect nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, the United States passed laws limiting smoking in public places. During the 1970s, states and cities began requiring nonsmoking areas in public areas and workplaces. Over the next thirty years, many workplaces and public areas became “smoke-free environments,” where smoking was completely forbidden. Regulations on smoking in public vary across states and cities; however, federal law bans smoking in all federal facilities and control smoking on airplanes, which was banned in 1990 for all domestic flights less than six hours long. Today, most flights between the United States and other countries are also smoke free” (Smoking). Before smoking was prohibited in restaurants and other public areas, my family dined at a local Waffle House. My toddler son sat in a highchair in the aisle when a woman walked past our table smoking a cigarette. I remember thinking to myself, “That smoke follows her like