A Proposal to Ban Smoking in Public Areas Essay

Dr. David L. Katz, A clinical professor of public health, and director of the prevention research center at Yale University School of Medicine expresses his opinion on public smoking in the following passage.

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.

Consequences also reach people nonsmokers who are exposed to smoke even involuntarily. Unfortunately, more than 126 million of Americans who don’t smoke are still exposed to the harmful effects of tobacco, whether in their homes by a family member who smokes, or on the streets and in public places by strangers who smoke (CDC, 2007). And the result of this exposure, can be seen in the data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) who reports that more than 600,000 million of deaths are a result of passive smoking, and in 2004, 28% of the children deaths were consequence of second-hand smoke in 2004 (WHO, 2014).

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,

Nearly 3,000 nonsmoker die each year due to the outcome of having them considered as second hand smokers. An individual has the right of choice of being a smoker or not. Yet, nonsmokers’ rights are being violated when they’re in public and are literally forced to be “passive smokers”.

Tobacco use is still very frequent, especially in low-income areas. Not only is it detrimental for the smokers themselves in terms of health, but also it harms those around them. Some health issues that occur are “lung cancer, heart disease, and colon cancer” (Haskins). For low income areas, smoking is one of the most leading causes of death, but it is a preventable cause. In order to help smokers to quit smoking, Haskin states that one suggestion is to raise the prices of tobacco and cigarettes, and another suggestion, especially for nonsmokers, is to have designated areas for smokers only and to have cities label certain public areas such as parks and common areas to be smoke-free zones. Because tobacco is addictive, receiving and seeking

Furthermore, numerous states across America have banned smoking in major public places, such as in restaurants, bars, work places, banks, parks and just about any area where there are a lot of people congregating. This is an effort to preserve public health. Even some advocates of smoking bans agree that, “restricting cigarette smoking in public places has clear health benefits and no adverse economic consequences” ("Smoking Bans and the Tobacco Industry"). The world can function pretty well without smoking, in fact studies showed that since the inception of smoking bans, there is a higher likelihood that a smoker may quit and that there is significant reduction in exposure to secondhand smoke. It not only benefits, non-smokers but it also helps smokers to kick the habit. Providing a flurry of reasons why it is so important to strive for the illegality of that which has done so much harm. With it completely illegal, Americans from state to state would undergo a drastic change—but for the better, our life spans would subsequently increase and we would be one step closer to getting rid of the diseases which have plagued us, as humans so long.

Walking down Boston’s Boylston Street at the late hours of the evening, the sidewalks are crowded with smokers taking their last hauls before entering the bars for a night of drinking.

Millions of Americans die every year from cigarette smoke, but not all of them are smokers. Conclusive information shows, “Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, 2.5 million adults who were nonsmokers died because they breathed secondhand smoke” (“Health Effects”). These nonsmokers, who died from secondhand smoke related illnesses, were exposed to secondhand smoke throughout their lives in order for these illnesses to develop. Most adults who suffer from secondhand smoke related issues were raised in homes where their parents smoked, which left them to suffer in the deadly chemicals being vaporized within the air from the burning cigarettes. Parents are informed of the harm cigarettes cause to their own body, but they still continue to

Growing up in an era where smoking was considered cool amongst the young, I never gave much thought to the long-term effect cigarette smoking would have on the lungs. Recently the issue of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) has become a very serious health issue, the American Cancer Society has produced commercials advising against smoking. However, it’s not only smokers who suffer with breathing difficulties, but also those who are near them. One of the highest cause of emphysema is second hand smoke, much of the people affected are those who worked or lived with smokers. According to the Surgeon General between 1964 and 2014, 2.5 million people died from second hand smoke. Chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide are but a few of the toxic chemicals contained in second hand smoke. These chemicals have caused individuals to develop asthma, COPD and lung cancer.

Did you know that roughly 36.5 million adults smoke cigarettes in the United States alone? Every year the number of smoking related diseases climbs by the 1,000’s, right now there is over 16 million Americans that live with smoking related diseases. The act of breathing in smoke without the actual intent to is called “passive smoking”, it’s also known as “second hand smoke”. The harmful chemicals that get released into the air whenever a smoker lights up, gets inhaled by you, and everyone else in the remote area. Breathing in the toxic air makes it dangerous for everybody, from women that are pregnant plus the unborn child that she is carrying, to children that already have a long life ahead of them, even your pets are at danger.

Smoking has become a health hazard to the world today, and there is no better way to settle the problem other than executing illegal smoking. Smoking causes approximately 40% more pollution than diesel car exhaust and is the leading cause of pollution due to its fine particulate matter. Former Professor in medicine, Anthony Rebuck states, “There is a triple threat[danger]… to human health… and it is due to people smoking.” Even though society

According the Virginia Department of Health, one in every five deaths may be attributed to smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke (Smoking -Attributable Deaths in Virginia). The risk of inferior health caused by smoking in public establishments is truly intolerable. The banning of smoking in public places would benefit everybody and should be imposed everywhere because it would reduce the risk of health problems to non-smokers, reduce the number of smokers all together, and reduce the amount of valuable money tax payers spend on smoking related expenses.

“Smoking has become so nearly universal among men, the few nonsmokers are practically ignored and their rights trampled upon” (John Harvey Kellogg, Hirschfelder 146) An occurrence that happens daily for many people is choking on a cloud of smoke, tasting and smelling its acidic tobacco as it swirls through their lungs. Smoking in public has been an issue that has plagued America for many decades, so commonplace by this point that it has become part of everyday life for millions of people. Secondhand smoke, also known as sidestream smoke or environmental tobacco smoke, contains many chemical contaminants and is potentially deadly to all who inhale it. Yet, it has often times failed to be regarded by lawmakers as a considerable threat to the

One of the founding principles of our country is that all people have the right to choose how he or she wants to live their life and treat their own body. However, any activity that causes harm to others, even if incidental, is neither warranted or justifiable. Some smokers tend to be indifferent to the repercussions they cause for other people by smoking in public. However, According to Outcomes Researcher Specialist, Paul H. Brodish, victims of passive smoking are just as susceptible to the many maladies linked to cigarette smoking, such as lung cancer, pneumonia, and bronchitis, as the person smoking. Furthermore, exposure to inhaled smoke, whether as the primary smoker or secondhand, also increases the risk of developing other health problems, such as stroke, coronary heart disease, various types of cancer including cervix, kidney, and colon cancer, as well as respiratory diseases (1).