The Smoking Should Be Banned

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

Most smokers started their cigarette addictions when they were only minors. Tobacco companies are fully aware of this and rely on it for better sales. “To maintain sales, the tobacco industry must recruit more than 2 million people every year to replace those who die and those who quit smoking. Since 90% of beginning smokers are children or teenagers, this means that the industry must entice at least 5000 youngsters daily to take up smoking” (Andre and Velasquez 7). This means that advertising smoking towards minors is crucial to keeping these companies in business. They could not survive without underage smokers. Luring children to smoke is beyond unethical. No company should be allowed to entice kids into an addictive habit that kills every day.

New Jersey Assembly Bill 826 prohibits smoking in automobiles when children are present. The primary sponsor is Charles Mainor, an Assemblyman for District 31. There are several co-sponsors; they are Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (District 32), Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (District 28), Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. (District 7), Assemblyman Angel Fuentes (5), Assemblyman Gilbert Wilson (District 5), and Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (District 21). Bill A826 establishes a $100 fine to any person smoking in a motor vehicle with a child of 16 years or younger present. No motor vehicle points or automobile insurance points will be assessed from a violation of the provisions of the bill. A826 also requires the Chief Administrator of the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission to establish a public awareness campaign to inform the public about its provisions. There is no fiscal note attached (New Jersey Assembly Bill 826).

In 2005, Needham, Massachusetts, has passed a regulation that banned the tobacco sale to anyone under 21. This regulation has achieved great success. The number of smoking students in high school has decreased by 47%. Smoking rate has decreased rapidly after 30 days and the 60% of frequent smoking

3. You can purchase and use tobacco products in 46 of the 50 states and in the District of Columbia. Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah require someone to be 19 years of age to purchase tobacco, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_Age.

When we come to the reality and try to realize how many 18 years old are really responsible for what they are doing, it is obvious to tell they are not mature enough to separate the good from the bad because they can easily be affected by peer pressure at this age. The majority of smokers regret smoking because they started doing it when they were not responsible enough for what they were doing. If people accept any 18 years old smoker as responsible and is able to decide if the cigarette is good or not, why do we find them regretting after 5 years or more? If we increase the minimum age of smoking cigarette to 21, people at least might know what they are doing because they are mature enough to decide what to do for the rest of their life; 3 years difference between 18 and 21 is a lot to learn from life. As a result we might decrease the number of new smokers because they will have full potential to decide what to do at this age than 18 years old.

According to Joshua Berlinger and Andy Rose, ever since California raised the smoking age to 21 there has been a quarter-million premature deaths and 50,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer. The smoking age should be increased to 21 in all states because it would save many more lives and it would be harder for teens to get tobacco and vapor products.

California has led the country in anti-smoking laws with the passage in 1976 of The California Indoor Clean Air Act of 1976. It declared smoke a hazard to the general public and limited the areas in which people could smoke in public buildings and outdoors spaces. California code Section 5148 prohibits smoking in the workplace; this includes any enclosed space at a place of employment.

Children 's lungs are still developing at young ages and adult’s occurs harmful effects on the heart. There are millions of children breathing smoke in their home with second hand smoke and second hand smokers don’t realize that their children are especially at more risk to their health than they are. Smoking in vehicles with under age of 18 should ban the law and children whose parents smoke around should also be illegal because in a small enclosed space such as a vehicle with a sunroof has more toxic air which expose breathing more rapidly. According to the author Leada Grove, created an article from AL.com wrote that “80 percent of smoke is invisivble and opening windows does not remove its harmful effects. The level of toxic air in a vehicle where someone is smoking is up to 10 times worse than levels that is considered hazardous”. Approximately 250,000 children and adults (non smokers) have died from health problems that exposed to secondhand smoke. Some states in the U.S. had established the secondhand smoke law that is illegal, however other states are still under construction to establish this law. All states should make this law a new law for all second hand smokers because as of right now our country have gained a major health issue and money wise for the government.

It was in 1964 that the Surgeon General of the United States first published a report on the ill-effects of smoking cigarettes, and within a year the first law requiring health warnings on cigarette packages was in effect. From that point, the government has slowly, but continually, imposed more and more restrictions on the use of tobacco products. Throughout the 1960s, 70's, 80's, and 90's, the both individual jurisdictions within the State of California, as well as the entire state, continued to impose tougher and tougher restrictions on smoking cigarettes until 1994, when California became the first state in the union to pass a law which completely prohibited smoking in most enclosed workplaces. ("Secondhand Smoke Exposure") This law, which took effect in 1998, restricted smoking in all enclosed places of employment including offices, factories, bars and restaurants. But by the early 21st century, the current restrictions were not enough for California's lawmakers and a push was started to ban smoking in all public places. Since the passage of these restrictions in the 1990's, there has been a great deal of change in the state with advocates of the smoking ban pointing to the increased health benefits for the citizens of the state, while opponents focus on the economic damaged in the business community caused by the restrictions. It is therefore necessary to examine the State of California and its ban on smoking and how it has

The California State Senate approved legislation Thursday to raise the age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21, as well as regulate the use of electronic cigarettes in places where tradition smoking is already prohibited. While lawmakers say this legislation will prevent young adults from using tobacco, research indicates similar legislation does little to actually prevent teenagers from becoming smokers. In addition, the move to regulate electronic cigarettes casts these items in an unjust light, especially by treating these items similar to traditional

The federal, state, and locals are taking action to prevent tobacco exposure, especially to the younger generations. Recently in California, the age limit to purchase tobacco products have been raised from 18 to 21 years old. There is a law that banned any electronic cigarettes from public places. The increased of tobacco tax also helped lower the prevalence of tobacco

The advocates of the smoking bans point at the societal and individual damage caused by smoking. The justification in their eyes for such ban is that smoking harms individuals’ health and passive inhaling the smoke causes serious health issues. They also emphasize a vital role of a government to protect its citizens’ health and well-being. Apart from that, the supporters mention large public and private spending from tax-payers money related to health issues caused by secondhand smoke. Despite of possible benefits, the regulation remains controversial in the US with only 8 states having such bans. The opponents of smoking bans in private cars with minors refuse the governmental control over behavior in a private property. They are against the violation of property rights and also against control of autonomy. According to the opponents, citizens should be responsible for their own health and should have freedom to make their own heath decision for themselves and their children. They refuse the paternalistic role of the state, however do not fully deny the paternalistic roles

How can people give teens a pack of cigarettes if they aren't even old enough to make good decisions? Society should change the smoking age requirement from 18 to 25. The minimum legal age to buy cigarettes varies from country to country. Mostly 18 is the minimum age requirement and is better to raise the age for all United States nationwide. Changing the smoking age requirement will not only save teens from making bad decisions but will decrease the number of smokers around the world.

In the summer of 2008, the Smokefree Air Act went into effect in Iowa. Smoking has been banned in public workplaces and transits. Users are fined $50 to $500 if they violate the act. Expanding the fine for smoking could also be another tool to put an end to smoking. Most smokers would rather not pay a large fee and may quit smoking altogether ("14 Central Pros and Cons of Smoking Bans”). At least eighty-two percent of the US population lives in a US state that has enacted a smoking ban. “Almost all states have passed some form of legislation to ban smoking in public areas. In fact, Medline Plus reports that as of May 2010, 39 states had some type of ban in place. According to Medline Plus, 26 of these states have banned smoking in all public places” (Cherney). In 2009, an act was issued to the FDA to stop advertising youth to purchase tobacco products and advertising it to the public. This act was called the, Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This act issued to limit the persuasion of smoking in advertisements, sponsoring it in any sort of entertainment or event, and even sampling it (“Laws/Policies”). Banning smoking could also lessen air pollution, decrease fires, lower energy consumption, etcetera. Smoking causes multiple health problems but could easily be avoided by prohibiting