Everyone knows that smoking is harmful and addictive. Cigarettes contain nicotine, a stimulant which its properties similar to cocaine and amphetamine. However, cigarette is legal so the smokers do not feel like they are using drug and refuse to admit that they have an addiction. Now that we know how dangerous cigarette smoking is, should it be banned as an illegal drug use? The following factors are the disadvantages of cigarette smoking; damaging health, causing annoyances to society and contributing global warming.
First, cigarette smoking damages health. Smoking can cause lung cancer and many other physical and mental damages. The effects of smoking are relevant to firsthand smokers as well as secondhand smokers. Studies found that secondhand smoke may be even more dangerous than firsthand smoke. While the smokers damage their health, they also make the innocent people around them becoming victims. The great way to reduce the risk to the smokers’ health, as well as the risk to others, is to stop smoking completely.
Second, cigarette smoking in public places causes annoyances to people. It’s true that the smokers have a right to smoke but, it is not reasonable if that right is harmful and causes annoyances to others. The smokers tend to have a smell because the tobacco odor clings to their hair and clothes. Even though the smokers already left the area, the undesirable effects still linger for some time. Some smokers may feel like they are treated and judged unfairly from society. Sometimes they're even treated like they are killing people when they are not. Well, it can't help that the society condemn the smokers for their poor choice to smoke and expose secondhand smoke to non-smokers.
Finally, cigarette smoking can contribute to global warming. Although most scientists believe that the act of smoking itself has a zero effect on global warming, tobacco plantation and processing definitely does. And the manufacture of cigarette also adds more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and lead to climate change. Moreover, cigarette butts which is filled with chemicals are thrown away every day in parking lots, streets, rivers, oceans and landfill. This is very bad for the environment. If cigarette smoking is banned, there will be the tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing no more, our planet will begin to heal itself and soon we can breathe in clean air.
Opponents of banning cigarette smoking say that an excise tax on tobacco bring huge profits for the governments to run and develop a country. This point has some merit on the surface. However, as stated previously, smoking has many disadvantages that affect to people more negatively than positively. Although some developing countries still depend on indirect taxes, there are taxes on something else such as tax on alcohol, tax on gasoline and tax on vehicle that can bring larger profits for governments. Thus, they can continue running their countries without a tax on tobacco.
In conclusion, smoking causes a lot of problems not only for the smokers, but also for the people around them and for the environment. Therefore, it should definitely be banned to prevent health problems and other damages that occur.
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