Cigarettes: A Deadly American Tradition Smoking cigarettes is one of the most addicting and deadly habits in modern America. Cigarettes can cause permanent health problems to you and and others around you. The sad thing is unlike some serious illnesses, smoking cigarettes is highly preventable. In one article James S. Zoller writes, “The Surgeon General has reported that ‘smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States’” (Zoller, 2). If this is the case, then why has the US government not stepped in? Americans are killed daily by these “death sticks” and the government just watches. Not to mention the huge Tobacco companies are making millions while American citizens lose loved ones from their disgusting
…show more content…
The main reason smoking should be limited or banned is because it has a high percentage of death. James S. Zoller states, “ TOBACCO is estimated to cause 400,000 deaths in the United States annually, and tobacco accounts for just under 20% of all deaths” (Zoller, 2). Not only is Tobacco killing thousands of innocent citizens, but the companies do not even have the decency to take account for the deaths. This is an example of how those corrupt companies do not care for human lives, only economic gain. The sad fact is that smoking can not only affect the person smoking but the people around or inside them. MMWR found that, “Smoking during pregnancy resulted in the death of 599 male and 408 female infants annually” (MMWR, 2). Killing the consumer is not as terrible as killing unborn babies. These infants had not even got to witness life yet before being murdered by the monster that is tobacco products. When will the killing stop? Obviously the companies will not stop by choice because these companies are making billions of dollars while innocent people suffer or even die. If smoking was limited it would make a huge difference in the death ratio. The Southern Medical Journal did an experiment of a state population of 3.6 million. Just reducing smoking by 60% would result in an increase of .42 years of life expectancy and over 100 years there would be an additional 18,000 years of life for birth cohort and 675,000 for the state (Zoller, 1). These are huge results for just one small state. Imagine if we could reduce smoking by 60% in the whole country. There would be so much more lives saved and less death. If the US government allows smoking to continue at this rate, who are they saving? Is it the American citizens that this country was built on or the pockets of the corrupt tobacco
The main reason smoking should be limited or banned is because it has a high percentage of death. James S. Zoller states, “ TOBACCO is estimated to cause 400,000 deaths in the United States annually, and tobacco accounts for just under 20% of all deaths” (Zoller, 2). Not only is Tobacco killing thousands of innocent citizens, but the companies do not even have the decency to take account for the deaths. This is an example of how those corrupt companies do not care for human lives, only economic gain. The sad fact is that smoking can not only affect the person smoking but the people around or inside them. MMWR found that, “Smoking during pregnancy resulted in the death of 599 male and 408 female infants annually” (MMWR, 2). Killing the consumer is not as terrible as killing unborn babies. These infants had not even got to witness life yet before being murdered by the monster that is tobacco products. When will the killing stop? Obviously the companies will not stop by choice because these companies are making billions of dollars while innocent people suffer or even die. If smoking was limited it would make a huge difference in the death ratio. The Southern Medical Journal did an experiment of a state population of 3.6 million. Just reducing smoking by 60% would result in an increase of .42 years of life expectancy and over 100 years there would be an additional 18,000 years of life for birth cohort and 675,000 for the state (Zoller, 1). These are huge results for just one small state. Imagine if we could reduce smoking by 60% in the whole country. There would be so much more lives saved and less death. If the US government allows smoking to continue at this rate, who are they saving? Is it the American citizens that this country was built on or the pockets of the corrupt tobacco