

Argumentative Essay On Why Smoking Should Be Banned

















































Smoking Cigarettes

The governments must ban the sales of tobacco products. There are many consequences to smoking like health, addiction, cessation and economic costs. Second hand smoke is a major problem, since smoking is allowed in alot of public places.
Second hand smoke has fifty cancer causing shemicals which are inhaled by non-smokers. Second hand tobacco smoke is also called Environment Tobacco Smoke (ETS). ETS is made up of smoke that comes from the end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar called sidestream smoke. People that are constantly exposed to ETS are at increasing risk for developing health problems related to it. Thirty-three percent of Canadian children under the age of twelve are regularly inhaling ETS. Since children breath faster than adults rhey take in more air, and if there is ETS in the air, the children can develop alot of health problems. ETS can cause problems like bronchitis,pneumonia, middle ear disease and asthma. In the family car many children are exposed to ETS. In a 1995 survey it is found that over half of the smokers, smoke in the car when children are present. Each year in Canada about 3300 people die from heart didease caused by ETS. And this is only second hand smoke .
As for smokers themselves, their at higher risk to their health. Smoking causes cancers to the esophagus, lungs, voice box, throat and mouth and helps develop cancers of the bladder, pancreas, cervix and kidneys. It also causes cardiovascular disease like heart disease, stroke and diseases of the blood vessels. Lung cancer was the first cancer to be linked to smoking and is the number one cause of cancer deaths of people, world wide. Eighty to ninety percent of all lung cancer is smoking related, but lung cancer is not the only smoking related cancer, there are eight other cancers linked to smoking. There are over 16,000 cancer deaths in Canada each year, and is caused by smoking. Also smoking causes pulmonary and respiratory diseases. Over 8,000 people die each year from respiratory diseases caused by smoking. And it also causes alot of other diseases that permanently damage the lungs and airways by smokers. Other than cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, smoking can cause alot of health problems like ulcers and bowel disorders (Crohn’s Disease), osteoperosis (decreased bone density), thyroid disease and increased severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking also causes other health problems like cataracts, menstrual disorders, sleep problems, tooth and gum damage and increased injuries.
About three million people die from smoking-related diseases, world wide, each year. In Canada about 45,000 people die each year from smoking and about 3,400 of them are Albertans. Researchers estimate that on average, smokers lose about fifteen years of their lives. The smokers that die before 70 lose an average of 22 years, and the ones that die after 70 lose an average of 8 years. One in four deaths are caused by tobacco in developed countries, one in eight deaths in developing countries, and one in six deaths world wide. And also researchers say that within thirty to forty tears the global death rate will rise to ten million per year. Smoking should be banned off the shelves of stores so the death rate would go down.
In conclusion, if the government would ban the sales of tobacco products the health system wouldnt have to spend so much money on cancer or smoking related health problems. They would save over one billion dollars per year. And the death rate would decrease if smoking was banned. About 33 to 50% of people who try smoking become regular smokers and 70% to 90% of people who are regular smokers are addicted to nicotine. It is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. so once children try it out when they see other people doing it they most likely would become addicted. Smoking kills more people than HIV/AIDS, traffic accidents, murder, suicide and drug use combined. But smoking should definately be banned from public places since second hand smoke causes health problems as well. So smoking should be banned because it causes so much problems to health wheather it is to the smoker or to the second hand smoker.

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“Smoking Cigarettes.” 123HelpMe.com. 05 Oct 2016

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Smoking Should be Banned in all Public Places

Published: 23, March 2015

The numbers of people who smoke have increase over the years. Although they are equipped with the knowledge of how unhealthy smoking can be, people still choose to smoke. It is a personal choice and a highly addictive habit. Smokers choose to subject themselves to the health risks of smoking. It is not for the government or any third party to dictate whether or not a person should be allowed to smoke. However, smoking does not only affect the smoker negatively. It also affects all the people around those who smoke because when people smoke in pubic the smoke travels everywhere through the air, and the negative effects of this smoke affects all living, breathing creatures. Therefore smoking should be banned in all public places.

People who smoke in public portray a bad example. Children are easily influenced in their growing stages. They imitate the people around them because they cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Therefore they perceive the actions they see around them as the way things should be. Besides that, teenagers who see people smoke in public take it as precedent to start smoking as well. There is a saying that goes "monkey see monkey do," which tells us that people imitate the actions of others as they see it in their daily lives. Teenagers happen to think that smoking makes a person "cool." When they see adults doing it on the streets it strengthens their belief in the "coolness" of smoking. Some teenagers think that smoking marks their transition into adulthood and maturity. Hence, more teenagers start smoking due to the influence of seeing other people smoke in public places.


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If smoking is banned in public areas, it will promote a healthier lifestyle for everyone. People will see it as a government endorsement for a healthier lifestyle of everybody. This is because by banning smoking in public areas the government sends the message that the government cares about the health of the citizens and that the government discourages people from smoking. Thus, when smoking is not allowed in public areas it reminds people that health care is very important. It reminds each and every person that the government is seriously concerned for the well being of its citizens. Therefore, people would be reminded to live a healthy lifestyle.

If smoking is banned in public places it safeguards the life of the smoker as well as that of the public. Studies have shown that second hand smoke kills. Second hand smoke causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections and asthma attacks in children. Besides that, second hand smoke causes heart diseases and lung cancer in smoking and non-smoking adults. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic, including more than 50 that can cause cancer" (CDC, 2009). These studies have proven that second hand smoke can cause cancer and is extremely bad for both the smokers and non-smokers’ health. In addition, the CDC also states that, "The California Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in theUnited States" (CDC, 2009). This means that just by being near people who are smoking, innocent people are dying of diseases that are caused by second hand smoke. This violates a non-smokers’ right to live a healthy lifestyle because just by being in public places where other people smoke they are subjected to breathing in toxic fumes. Consequently, the health of innocent non-smokers who are in public places are being jeopardized against their will.

By disallowing people who smoke from smoking in public, it will cause smokers to smoke less. Because smoking is not allowed in public, people are only allowed to smoke in their homes. This would mean that as long as they are out of their homes: at work, when they eat out, at the movies or even at the parks, they cannot smoke.Â Smokers will have to wait until they get home to light up a cigarette. As a result, their cigarette consumption reduces and they smoke less. This in turn will benefit the smokers who have been trying to quit smoking but are unable to because they have more reason to stop. The law prohibits them from smoking in public areas, so cigarette consumption is reduced. Also, should they have an urge to smoke in public they will put in extra effort to quash the craving because it is punishable by law. In addition, there is less temptation for smokers who want to quit smoking if the ban is enforced because no one will offer them cigarettes. Therefore, this allows them to abstain from smoking. This theory is proven in a report published in The Daily Mail (2008), stating, "At least 400,000 people inEngland have quit smoking as a result of the ban on lighting up in public places that was introduced last July." Smokers will benefit from this ban because it will help them reduce the amount as well as the frequency of smoking and it could also help them break their addiction to cigarettes. In the long run it could help them quit, and also help them develop healthier lifestyles.


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If smoking is not allowed in public areas it discourages non-smokers from starting to smoke at all. People will not be tempted to start smoking because they know that smoking is addictive, and if smoking is not allowed in public they will suffer from withdrawal from their addiction to the nicotine from cigarettes. The Wiltshire Times (2007) postulates, "New research shows that one in ten smokers claim to have quit and over half of south west smokers have thought about quitting since the nationwide ban was introduced on July 1." If smokers choose to quit or even think of quitting because of the inconvenience of not being able to smoke in public, would it not, more so, prevent a non-smoker from smoking? Surely one would not intentionally subject themselves to an addiction knowing that they will suffer withdrawal symptoms due to that addiction. By banning smoking in all public areas, the government shows support for the fact that smoking is bad, and it helps to set changes to the mind set in people reminding them that smoking is not a healthy habit. Furthermore, smoking will no longer be an issue when it comes to the influence of peers because nobody is allowed to smoke in public, so peers cannot pressure a person to start smoking.


If people are prohibited form smoking in public it would be safer for the environment. When smokers smoke in public they tend to throw their cigarettes on the ground wherever they are. These cigarette buds are detrimental to the environment because they take a long time to decompose. According to McLaren (2005) "Traditional butts are made of synthetic polymer cellulose acetate’ and never degrade, only breaking apart after roughly 12 years." Because the cigarette butts are not biodegradable they pollute the land. Most of the cigarette butts that are littered all over the place end up the rivers, and in the bellies of fishes and other aquatic creatures. McLaren (2005) also postulates that, "within an hour of contact with water, cigarette butts can begin leaching chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into the marine environment.’ This pollutes the water supply that will inevitably end up in the stomachs of all living creatures. If the smoking ban is enforced the littering of these buds will no longer be an issue and the environment will be cleaner and healthier for everyone.


The death toll for heart and lung diseases as well as the death toll for cancer will continue to gradually increase if the current smoking situation is not corrected. By putting forth a ban of smoking in public places the government promotes a healthier lifestyle for everybody and it protects every citizen from many diseases and health risks such as cancer and other deadly diseases. Besides that, the ban will eliminate the bad example set fort by people smoking in the public. Children and teenagers will then have a mindset implemented by the government that smoking is bad. The ban will discourage non-smokers from starting to smoke, thus preventing them from getting addicted to cigarettes. Also, it will encourage smokers to quit, and aid them on the difficult journey to be freed from the bounds of addiction. Consequently there will be no cigarette buttes littered all over the place affecting the environment negatively.Â By prohibiting people from smoking in public the government is protecting the God given rights of its people to live a full and healthy life. It encourages people to take steps to better their quality of life and to take care of themselves as well as the people around them. Therefore, smoking should be banned in all public places.

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Examples of our work

McLaren, W. (2005). Cigarette Butts: One Huge Problem, Two Solutions. Treehugger.

Retrieved December 7, 2009 from

One in Ten Quit Smoking Since Ban (2007). Wiltshire Times. Retrieved December 5,

2009 from http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/1706214.one_in_ten_quit_smoking_since_ban/

Secondhand Smoke (2009). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved

December 5, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm

Smoking ban spurs 400,000 people to quit the habit (2008). Mail Online. Retrieved

December 5, 2009 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1030575/Smoking-ban-spurs-400-000-people-quit-habit.html

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Argumentative Essay about Why Smoking Should be Banned

Extracts from this document.

﻿Page | ________________ Ban Smoking in Public Places Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States, and doing it in public is even worse because smokers not only harm themselves, but also those around them. I remember how my great uncle would always smoke in his house regardless of his surroundings. When his daughter visited him for a vacation, she brought her three year old daughter with her. The baby was healthy before coming to her grandpa’s house, but in less than two weeks, she had developed ear infections and started to cough. When they went to the doctors’ office to find out how she had gotten it, the doctor linked it back to the second hand smoke that she was breathing in. When my great uncle found out about it, he finally started to care about where he was smoking and who he was with, and decided that he would smoke in a secluded place where no one but him may be affected. . read more.

Though many smokers already know of the health risks that come with smoking cigarettes, but what most of them do not, is how secondhand smoking can affect other people. Breathing in low doses of secondhand smoke can increase a person?s risk of heart attack? according to a study by Dr. Meyers, a professor of Cardiology and Preventive Medicine at University of Kansas (Sciencedaily.com). Smokers should not risk non-smokers for something that they do. In continuation of Dr. Meyers? study is that. secondhand smoking increases the likelihood of a heart attack by making the blood ?sticky. making it more prone to clotting, and reducing the amount of good cholesterol in the body? (Sciencedaily.com). Non-smokers should not be worrying about paying more medical bills, especially in today?s economic situation. Many businesses provide health insurance to their employees. According to a statistical data collected by Live Strong, employers spend an extra $49 million in medical costs for employees who are exposed to secondhand smoking in their jobs (Nelson). . read more.

Smoking in public should be banned at a federal level without question. Smoking negatively affects people, the environment and businesses. There are no logical reasons to allow smoking in public places and doing so does not benefit anyone but cigarette makers. Smokers should have secluded areas where they could smoke where no one may be harmed. The government should provide trash cans in these areas so smokers would not just throw their cigarette butts on the floor. Anyone caught smoking in public places and littering their cigarettes should be fined. Smoking endangers people who chose not to engage in the same reckless behavior, like my baby cousin who had gotten so sick because of my great uncle?s smoking. It also dirties our environment and harms other animals that are in search of food. Businesses who provide health insurance to their workers affected by second hand smoking are wasting money that could be used to hire more employees. Banning smoking in public may lead to a better way of life and a healthier place to live. . read more.

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