Smoking Essay: The Burning Topic: Cigarettes

The Burning Topic: Cigarettes In the article 11 Facts About Smoking it states, “Smoking is the cause of 1 in 5 deaths in the US annually. And tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death.” There has been laws that have been passed to outlaw commercials about cigarettes, smoking in a car with a child in it, and putting health warnings on cigarette packages. In 1970, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act requires the cigarette companies to put a label on the packages stating the health risks. This act also prohibited cigarette advertisements on the radio and television. (Laws/Policies) In recent years Wisconsin has put a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, and many other public places. Minnesota has put a ban on many public places, …show more content…
They burden families financially, because they cost so much. If the families would have saved the money they spent on cigarettes, then they could spend the money on something more meaningful to their families. The CDC states, “Secondhand smoke exposure is higher among people with low incomes.” This quote shows that people are more likely to buy cigarettes, and therefore their kids are exposed to secondhand smoke. A counterargument could be that the people who smoke are addicted to them, so we cannot make them quit. They will also say that it helps the people who are smoking to calm down. Dr. Mercola …show more content…
Children are more likely to become really sick and have a greater risk of SIDS along with ear infections, asthma attacks, and respiratory issues. Secondhand smoke can cause heart disease, lung cancer, strokes, secondhand smoke also contains 172 toxic substances, which should be alarming to the general population. Just because it is a free country does not mean that something that is being done cannot be regulated, for example, a speed limit. It is a free country, but if the speed limit is broken the perpetrator is ticketed. Cigarettes also carry a financial burden, when someone could be spending the money on food or other supplies. It is proven that secondhand smoke exposure is higher in the population with a lower income. It is also proven that smoking stimulates calm, good emotions, it helps improve concentration, and gives the person a sense of well-being, but these effects are only temporary. Otherwise if they were long term effects, there would be no such thing as a pack of cigarettes, because smokers would not need another cigarette. Lastly, it is possible to quit smoking. In the past fifty years the people who smoke in the general population has gone down by 37%. Some things that can help people quit are pharmaceuticals or just simply abstaining from cigarettes. Of course