Smoking In The United States

Smoking is one of the most dangerous things in the world, as it is said to “...kill more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined,” according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Despite all of this, smoking is still a rising epidemic in the United States, as well as other countries. Cigarette smoking can date all the way back to 900AD where it was found represented in various cave drawings. Later, tobacco was then grown and sold in 1612 by the first settlers. It only took until the 1800’s for tobacco (one of the main ingredients in cigarettes) to start to become widespread. Consequently, people started to receive notifications about the dangers of cigarettes in the 1980’s. Now almost 40 years …show more content…
Approximately 480,000 deaths occur yearly the United States due to smoking. Of those deaths, about 41,000 people weren't even smokers. Whenever someone decides to smoke they are not only hurting themselves, also those around them. "Second-hand smoke, according to experts, can lead to increased risk of emphysema, cardiovascular disorders and respiratory problems” (ConnectUS). Those are just some of the many problems caused by secondhand smoke. Accordingly, secondhand smoke also has different consequences on young children. About “up to 700 million children are exposed to second-hand smoke in the home annually” (Ellen, Sprague). This should be considered some form of child abuse, due to the fact that the smoke from cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc. is constantly attacking those poor children’s body. There is even evidence that if a child grew up in an house with smoking parents, that the child would grow up to be a smoker …show more content…
With every new smoker added along with the many current smokers, our healthy environment becomes a little more damaged every day. In his book Torr writes, "...states and cities which have non-smoking policies and prohibited smoking in restaurants and public indoor spaces have better indoor air quality as opposed to cities which still allow smoking public.” What the quote is illustrating is that cities that allow smoking are ruining their air quality, and if there were more policies on smoking in public then the United States would be a much healthier and cleaner place. Smoking doesn't only effect the air quality however, as it can have much greater consequences. "Smoking can increase the risks of fire in places with highly flammable materials" (ConnectUS). The quote supports the idea that cigarettes aren't only dangerous to people, but also the outside world. When left unattended a cigarette is able to start a house fire, a forest fire, and many other types of fires. Therefore, cigarettes are more dangerous than they appear and proper actions should be taken.
In conclusion, smoking of all types should be banned in public because it is harmful to the smoker, to those around the smoker, and to the environment. Smoking can cause varies types of cancers and health issues, and it can even destroy the world around us. So the next time someone is smoking one of those bothersome