Cigarette Smoking Essay, Research Paper
For a long time now many people have different views about smoking inpublic places. Smokers feel it is their right to smoke where and when theywant. On the other hand non-smokers feel smokers violate their rights and endanger there life. Smoking causes heart disease, lung cancer and otherserious illnesses. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of lungcancer. A substantial number of lung cancers that occur in non-smokers canbe attributed to involuntary smoking. There are some parts in the UnitedStates where you can smoke in public places, on the other hand in New Yorkthere are designated areas. While some people feel that smoking in publicplaces should remain since it is their right, smoking in public placesshould be banned because second-hand smoke will endanger non-smokers healthand it pollutes the enviroment. Smokers feel they have had the right to smoke in a public place for solong that it should not be taken away. Resturants and businesses should beallowed to set their own smoking rules, based on demands of the customers.Also business may decrease if they do not allow smokers the right to smoke,ecspecially bars and restaurants. The work place is another problem forsmokers, now they have to go outside even in the winter to have acigarette, even though they used to be able to smoke inside.A strongsupporter on smokers rights is Democratic Assemblyman Dick Floyd, whowanted to vote for a controversial smokers right bill. He feels it is not a smoking bill, it merely protects the people who use legal substances suchas tobacco and alcohol in their homes from job discrimination. However, smoking in public places is a danger to non-smokers healthfor the reason of passive or second-hand smoke. The public does not realizethe significant hazards of passive smoking. A U.S enviromental protectionagency stated second-hand smoke is the third major cause of lung cancer inthe United States. The simple separation of smokers within the same airspace may reduce, but does not eliminate exposure to passive smoke. InArizona five thousand and six hundred Americans died in 1989 due to passivesmoke. A recent federal Environmental protection agency reported on thedangers of second hand smoke. They found this kills fifty-three thousand non smokers a year. By putting a smoke free policy into effect, it willsend a strong message about protecting health. Even though designated areasare set aside for smokers this does not really protect a non-smoker. Theheating and air conditions does not filter out carcinogens well enough andthe smoke drifts onto non-designated areas. Finally, if public smoking is kept legalized we will have majorproblems facing the environment. One problem is alot of people are irritated by tobacco smoke. A man named General C.Everett Knoop released areport saying that passive smoking, when a non-smokers breathe smoke in anenclosed area, it causes as many as five deaths a year. Smoking in a publicplace is an air pollutant and it can damage health in a number of ways. Thefour major health hazards fall into air, water, and noise pollution. Airpollution can lead to various forms of respiratory disease. The mainproblem of smoking in a public place is indoor air pollution. Some of theseproblems that result indoor air pollution is building ventilation that hasbeen reduced to conserve energy, with the result that ventiliation issimply inadequate. Combustion by products from smoking tobacco haveproduced substances, smoke included, that contaminate indoor air. Theproblem effecting a person who is in a contaminated enviroment may resultin coughing, whezzing, chest tightness, muscular aches, chills, headaches, fever and fatigue. To solve this we have to have extra ventilation and keep designated areas in the public places if there are any. Although some claim that smoking in a public place is their right andshould be kept that, smoking in public places should not be legalizedbecause it will endanger non-smokers from passive smoke and it pollutes ourenviroment. The state of New York will remain restricting smoking todesignated areas. Cigarettes are the most deadly habit, affecting thegreatest number of people in the world today. A ban on public smoking wouldcreate a healthier country.