The effects of second-hand smoke have been well-known for decades; in fact, the Surgeon General warned the public about its dangers in 1972 (Schick & Glantz, 2005). Do people knowingly have the right to put others’ health at risk? No, they do not. Exposure to cigarette smoke is a public health risk. Therefore, smoking should be banned in all public places, nationwide.
There has been no attempt to impose a national smoking ban by the U.S. government. All current bans are in place because of state and local legislation. Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights lists the various state and local smoking laws that have emerged since the 1980s, and the regulations vary greatly (2010). This is extremely confusing. Some states have strict smoking bans in all public places, some states have regulations that vary from city to city, and some states have no public smoking bans at all. Some states have so many regulations it is hard to keep track of them all. For example, Kansas passed a state-wide smoking ban in 2010, but that ban still exempts tobacconists, private clubs, and casinos. Prior to the state-wide ban, it had numerous local bans; some included all restaurants and bars, but others exempted restaurants and bars that did not allow patrons under 18 (Koranda & Mann, 2010).
While almost half of the states have passed statewide bans, the exemptions often make the bans useless. For example, Missouri’s Health and Welfare statutes note that people can only smoke in “designated smoking areas” in public places, but a restaurant can have up to 30% of its space designated as a smoking area, and no separate ventilation is required (2010, Section 191.767). The areas not considered “public spaces” include “bars, taverns, restaurants that seat less th...
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...xposure to environmental tobacco smoke in restaurant and tavern workers in one US city. Journal of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology, 10(1), 36-49. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Schick, S., & Glantz, S. (2005). Scientific analysis of second-hand smoke by the tobacco industry, 1929-1972. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 7(4), 591-612. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Zdechlik, M. (2007, May 16). Governor signs statewide ban into law. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/articles/2007/05/24/news04.txt.
Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. (2010). Smokefree lists, maps, and data. Retrieved from http://www.no-smoke.org/goingsmokefree.php?id=519
Missouri Health and Welfare Statutes. Chapter 191: Section 191.767. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C100-199/1910000767.HTM
Renneboog, R. M. (2016). Cigarette Smoking Bans: An Overview. Canadian Points Of View: Cigarette Smoking Bans, 1.
Borio, Gene, “Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949—The Rise of the Cigarette.” Chapter 6. 1993-2003.
Encyclopaedia of Children’s (2013) stated that smoking is a form of inhalation of smoking from different forms of tobacco which include cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Cancer Research (2012) and the World Health Organisation (2013) have confirmed that most tobacco products contain very high level of nicotine which can have additive effect and are made from tobacco leaf which are s...
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
There needs to be a policy to ban cigarettes, it kills the smoker, in addition, could kill the person exposed to the smoke from cigarettes. “The cigarette is also a defective product, meaning not just dangerous but unreasonably dangerous, killing half its long-term users” (Proctor), cigarettes are not healthy in any way making it a defective product, it mainly kills the smoker rather than helping them. It was produced to be inhalable smoke harming anyone who smokes them making it a defect because in the past the tobacco was too harsh to be inhaled. The policy would help cigarette smokers, especially since they don’t even like the habit of smoking cigarettes, knowing it harms them.
... “Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It causes serious illness among an estimated 8.6 million persons, it costs $167 billion in annual health-related losses, and it kills approximately 438 000 people each year. (n1, n2) Worldwide, smoking kills nearly 5 million people annually. If current trends continue, this number will double by 2030, and smoking will kill more than 1 billion people during this century” (Frieden and DE). Therefore, banning smoking in public places can reduce at least some of these problems and would enable people to live in a healthier way.
Today, through out the country, and even right here in Ames, Iowa, there is an enormous problem of cigarette smoke putting people?s lives in danger. By passing a ban to make smoking illegal in public places, the lives of people who have been made to suffer from second-hand smoke will be improved, and people who currently smoke will be discouraged from continuing to do so. This will help to improve the lives of all Ames citizens.
Smoking can negatively affect your system in just a few days, and over time, smokers rarely think about the greater dangers, such as lung cancer, skin cancer, and birth defects. Although I don't smoke, I am still aware of these dangers and try to keep myself away from situations where I am surrounded by smoke. The majority of people don't know that breathing in second-hand smoke is actually worse than smoking a cigarette. People who are constantly surrounded by smokers in places such as bars and restaurants are affected by the smoke they breathe in. While people assume that inhaling smoke straight from the cigarette is worse than secondhand smoke, they forget that the smoker has a filter that holds back some of the toxins that people around them can easily breathe in.
Second Hand Smoke In the 1950's and 60's scientists gave the people a lot of evidence on the deadly effects of smoking where the tobacco companies on the other hand tried to put the doubt in people’s minds through the campaigns to show that it is not all true. By the time people actually decided to take care of their health and finally saw how life-threatening smoking could be by real life examples, the tobacco companies already got rich from its sales. Nowadays, nobody doubts that “firsthand” smoke is deadly to your health and it causes lung cancer and heart disease in adults and asthma and bronchitis in children. Now the industry is onto the secondhand smoke. Scientists and researchers are representing a lot of evidence and research that has been done throughout the years showing that the secondhand smoke can also cause a lung cancer in nonsmokers. The study has been done of people who have been long exposed to secondhand smoke and it shows that 26 out of 33 published studies indicate a link between secondhand smoke and lung cancer. The study estimates that the people that were breathing secondhand smoke were 8 to 150 percent more likely to get lung cancer. The tobacco companies are trying to argue the facts and are still in serious debate about the health hazards of breathing a secondhand smoke. A lot of anti-smoking organizations are trying to turn smoking in public into a private activity that does not have to involve nonsmokers breathing secondhand smoke. What is even more important is that many of these organizations convinced a lot of smokers to cut back or quit completely. The problem of secondhand smoke is increasing because it is so common in our society. It makes secondhand smoke the third-ranking cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. Mothers who live with a smoking spouse have to realize the ill effects of secondhand smoke on children even before they are born. The smoking components reach the developing fetus through the mother. Infants that are born in a smoking environment weigh less and have a weaker chance of becoming a fully developed child. Secondhand smoke leads to blood clots and damages arterial linings which are the two most leading factors in the development of heart disease. The tobacco companies got scared of the effect that the secondhand smoke research can do to the cigarette makers.
Many restaurant and bar owners think that the ban will decrease business, but a counter-argument to this is that only twenty percent of the city's population are smokers, and when the smoking ban is in place, the other eighty percent will go out to bars and restaurants, dramatically increasing business. There are many different opposing arguments to banning smoking, and the debate will probably never end. Smoking should be banned in public places because, although some may argue that it infringes on their freedom, smoking is replete with harmful substances. People should be able to frequent bars and restaurants without the fear of experiencing an asthma attack or developing lung disease. Everyone deserves the freedom to live and breathe without restriction.
Although it is beneficial for the economy for the production of tobacco products it is extremely risky to use the product. According to researchers second-hand smoke is terrible for everyone in the world who walk by someone who is exhaling. In the article by Robert Proctor “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition” he states that cigarettes are the “most deadl...
However, by prohibiting smoking in public areas and restricting it only to a certain place prevents smokers from fair participation in their social life. The main goal of the smoking ban is to make it socially unacceptable to smoke, which helps force smokers to quit. Medical studies have been conducted and published that show the dangers of smoking and the effects of second hand smoke. The research is very vague though and never truly shows you the exact causes. People have a choice not to expose themselves to many of the same harmful materials in our everyday life, such as soda, fried foods, and car exhaust.
Have you ever been in your favorite restaurant and just as you are about to take a bite of your favorite dish, your lungs are filled with a cloud of smoke which has drifted to your table from the smoking section just a few feet away? This is a common complaint of many patrons who enjoy dining at restaurants. While it is true that the smoke from cigarettes causes many health problems, is it fair to take away the freedom of Americans who wish to smoke? Even as compromises can be made on this subject, the majority of people stand by their strong opinions on whether smoking should be allowed in restaurants.
Those opposing a smoking ban say that freedom of choice would be affected by such legislation. Some people against a ban say that smoking bans damage business. A smoking ban could lead to a significant fall in earnings from bars, restaurants and casinos. Another argument is that the smoker has a basic human right to smoke in public places, and the ban is a limitation for smokers’ rights. Businesses, smokers, publicans, tobacco industries, stars, and some of the non-smokers oppose public smoking ban. Smokers light a cigarette because they need to smoke, not because they want it, because nicotine is physically addictive. Therefore, some smokers think that the public smoking ban is oppressiveness. They see the ban as a treatment to smokers as second-class citizens. Smokers agree that the smoking ban benefits the world, but cannot support the ban, because effects of nicotine obstruct them.
“Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes for Smokers” healthliteracy.worlded.org. Copyright 1995 by Marjorie Jacobs revised 1997, n.d web 14 April 2011