Smoking Should Be Illegal
By: Camdyn Despres
Did you know that there are about 480,000 deaths a year caused by smoking and tobacco use? In addition to that about 50,000 people a year die from secondhand smoking. Smoking is extremely dangerous for the smoker, the people around them, and the environment that they are in. According to D.A.R.E., Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education class, smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, colds, and upper respiratory problems. Smoking is not beneficial to anyone or anything and it should be illegal for everyone in all parts of the world.
Smoking should be illegal in all parts of the world because it is linked to many serious health issues. Smoking can cause lung disease. Lung disease prevents the lungs from working how they are supposed to. People who smoke tend to have more colds. Lung disease can also lead to respiratory issues. Another health issue that can be brought on by smoking is heart disease. Heart disease is very dangerous and in some cases it has been deadly. One out of every five lives taken away to heart disease in the United States of America have been people who have smoked or do smoke. Serious and fatal health issues is one of the many reasons that smoking should be illegal in all parts of the world.
Smoking should be illegal in all parts of the world because it is very harmful to the environment. It causes colossal amounts of toxic waste to go into our environment. The more than two-hundred known chemicals inside cigarette butts get into our many water sources and our ground soil. The chemicals are very harmful to the wildlife and can damage their habitats. Smoking is also very bad for the people who are in the environment that he smoker is in which is called second hand smoke. Second-hand smoking includes breathing in the smoke of someone’s cigarette and being near a burning cigarette. Second-hand smoking is very dangerous and can be fatal. The D.A.R.E book states that “almost 50,000 deaths per year can be attributed to secondhand smoke”. Children who live with smokers or breath in smoke from cigarettes are at risk to experience ear infections, asthma attacks, lung infections, coughing, wheezing, and in some serious cases, death. Secondhand smoking is a very serious problem. Another way that smoking is harmful to the environment is that it can damage land and buildings such as our beloved homes. In 2012-2016, a yearly 18,100 home fires which started up by people smoking killed about 590 people. Smoking is very harmful to our environment and the people in the environment which is one of the many reasons why smoking should be illegal in all parts of the world.
Although a lot of people think smoking should be illegal, many people disagree with that statement. According to the University of Adelaide in Australia, there are actually some benefits to smoking. One of them being that you have a better chance of avoiding obesity. Smoking can make food less tasty which causes them to resist the urge to eat as much. You also have a lower of getting Parkinson’s disease. If you look at the big picture those benefits that come from smoking do not outweigh life threatening diseases and illnesses that are caused by smoking.
Smoking is not beneficial to anyone or anything so it should be illegal in all parts of the world. It is very harmful to the smoker, and to the environment. It causes diseases and illnesses that can take your life away in a second. Cigarette smoke has over 200 toxic chemicals in it that can destroy our environment and the wildlife that live in our environment. If you or a loved one smokes and wants to quit, call the American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345 for some advice that can help save someone’s life.