Reasons Why Smoking Should Be Banned in Public Places Essay

Tobacco is one of the most widely-used drugs in the world, mainly in the form of cigarettes. Although most countries put restrictions on its use, many people smoke everyday despite the fact that it is poisonous and harmful to their health. In my opinion, smoking should be banned completely for several reasons. Firstly, smoking can cause serious health problems to the smokers themselves and to those inhaling secondhand smoke. Tobacco smoke contains many harmful subtances including a lot of carcinogens and nicotine which is addictive.

Smoking can cause cancer, emphysema and heart disease. It can also shorten your life by up to ten years or more. Inhaling secondhand smoke for even brief periods can be deadly. Studies show that exposure to cigarette smoke for as little as thirty minutes a day can raise a non-smoker’s risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.

The danger is even greater for those who are already at a higher risk of coronary problems such as men over forty, pre-menopausal women or anyone who is obese, has diabetes or high blood pressure.

Secondly, apart from health hazards, being forced to breathe tobacco smoke is annoying and irritating to most people, especially people who have chronic conditions like asthma and bronchitis, which make them susceptible to tobacco smoke, and young children who are very sensitive to cigarette smoke. It should be noted that many activities, such as playing loud music, engaging in sexually provocative activity, dressing in inappropriately scanty attires, are banned in public places simply because they are annoying and irritating. In addition, discarded cigarette butts can be a big problem. Cigarette butts constitute the overwhelming majority of litter in many public places such as parks, beaches, sidewalks.

Smoking ban have substantially reduced the litter and therefore the costs of cleaning up these places, as well as improving the overall appearance and attractiveness of the area. Discarded cigarette which have not been put out can cause fire in forests and other areas with inflammable materials such as gas station. Discarded cigarette butts which contain toxic chemicals can be swallowed by animals like birds, cats or dogs, so smoking ban can also protect wild life. In conclusion, the result of a smoking ban can be an enormous saving of lives, a dramatic reduction in healthcare costs. Smoking ban will encourage and support smokers to quit by making it inconvenient to keep smoking. As smoking is being banned in an ever growing number of areas, people are beginning to expect freedom from these toxic fumes and unpolluted air wherever they may come.