Every year thousands of people die from tobacco usage. Smoking cigarettes, involuntarily breathing in the fumes, or chewing tobacco, are all harmful to the human body. The substance, tobacco, is a lethal drug that is death-defying to people's lives. Tobacco is just as harmful as other drugs, and it can cause the same amount of fatal harm as cocaine and marijuana the two most highly used illicit drugs. Therefore, all forms of tobacco should that be banned from the U.S. market. There are many reasons why tobacco should be illegalized. If tobacco is made illegal, then many smokers will be healthier, and also the people around them won't be harmed. The negative effects on personal health, the risk of, exposure to second-hand smoke, and the corrupting influence that smoking has on teenagers are all important reasons why tobacco should be prohibited in the United States.
Due to the dangerous chemicals in tobacco it is a dangerous substance. In 1990 the Centers for Disease Control estimated that every year 400,000 deaths in the United States are attributable to smoking (Flitton). The lethal and harmful chemicals in tobacco are what make it a hazardous cancer-causing substance. Tobacco also contains injurious toxins such as carbon monoxide and tar. Another ingredient, nicotine, is the additive in cigarettes or chewing tobacco which makes the users addicted to smoking. Tobacco makers have been concentrating the nicotine (the addictive part) in their product for years (Flitton). Nicotine was recently declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration, which explains why many smokers continue to smoke despite the numerous health warnings on cigarette smoking. Although cigarettes do not offer strong effects as drugs like heroin and cocaine they still tend to rank higher in the level of addiction it creates in the user. David Kesslar of the Food and Drug Administration says in a letter to an antismoking coalition, "...cigarette manufacturers may intend that their products contain nicotine to satisfy an addiction...Although technology to remove nicotine from [cigarettes] was developed years ago cigarette manufacturers shun it. Instead [they] control with precision the amount of nicotine in their products, ensuring that it [will] maintain an addiction" (Kesslar). Smoking dramatically increases the risk of lung cancer, emphysema, asthma, heart disease, stroke, ulcers, cervical cancer and bladder cancer. For example, in the case of my uncle, he faced many of these problems due to dipping tobacco and smoking. In March of 2001 my 43 year old uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer and he suffered with emphysema. Also, he had many stomach ulcers caused by the deadly and burning chemicals in tobacco. My uncle couldn't give up his addiction and his health rapidly deteriorated over the following year. Soon after months of struggling, he passed away in August of 2002. This strongly shows the horrific things that tobacco usage can cause, and that's a reason why I believe tobacco should be an illegal product in our country.
Furthermore, not only do smokers hurt themselves but also the people around them are affected. Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke, from tobacco products used by others. As California Environmental Protection Agency says that secondhand tobacco smoke is a complex mixture containing known carcinogens, teratogens, and toxins that causes 53 000 deaths per year in the USA, about one non-smoker for every eight smokers (CEPA). It occurs when tobacco smoke infuse any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Scientific evidence shows that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes disease, disability, and death through second hand smoke. People around smokers also inhale the fumes of tobacco; therefore, if a nonsmoker is consistently around a smoker, then they will also suffer from the same health risks. As UC San Francisco scientist and author Stanton Glantz estimates in Sharon Roan's article, "the amount of second-hand smoke inhaled by the typical nonsmoker is equivalent to one cigarette smoked per day. Even that amount of cigarette smoke can damage a person's heart. Some researchers have also concluded that smoking by pregnant women causes the deaths of over 5,000 babies and 115,000 miscarriages. The only way to terminate the suffering and loss of life brought upon by cigarettes exists as a complete banning on them" (Roan) 863-864. Women who smoke can increase the possibility of their children having low birth weight, getting attention-deficit disorder, and/or suffering sudden infant death syndrome. Mothers would be harming their children for no reason and the kids would have to suffer. It is not fair for innocent people who don't use tobacco to endure the dangerous effects of tobacco from ignorant smokers.
If the United States bans tobacco our society would be more environmentally improved and people would be much healthier. Fourteen states have passed what are considered smoke-free workplace laws, those that include restaurants and bars. As the website SmokeFree USA shows us the states that ban smoking in restaurants and bars. California, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey (casinos exempted), Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Montana banned smoking in restaurants - bars exempt till 2009. South Dakota had a ban - status unsure. In November 2006, Ohio and Nevada banned smoking in most public places; Arizona passed a similar ban, which takes effect May 2007. In January 2006 the Territory of Puerto Rico banned smoking in the workplace, including bars and casinos. Smoking in restaurants is banned in a number of cities and counties in other states, but is still common (SmokeFree USA).
This leads to one of the biggest concerns in our society today; smoking cigarettes is the wrong influence to children. As Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H. says on average, children are exposed to more secondhand smoke than nonsmoking adults (Surgeon General). Pressure from peers, advertisement, and cigarette companies take a toll on children and some kids are forced into smoking. While other teenagers feel left out of the crowd and so they try to fit in. Kids do this because they think smoking can attract attention and make them popular. So they are doing anything to make themselves look cool. Many people need to understand that there is also a greater chance that children of parent-smokers will become smokers themselves. However, the question is who is to blame: cigarette companies, parents, or the government? They all can be blamed and ultimately tobacco is a corruption to everyone.
The use of tobacco can cause destruction and ruin people's lives just like illegal drugs, and tobacco should be illegalized. Smoking should be banned because it affects all people, and it is risks of health problems of innocent people who don't smoke. Also, our youth in society are negatively influenced by tobacco. Altogether tobacco is a deadly substance which needs to be removed from the market. Many people believe with the removal of tobacco it can help create a much healthier and positively influenced society.
