Since the late 1990s, American state legislators have debated the subject of smoking. Who is allowed smoke (tobacco) cigarettes? Where can you smoke? How much will those cigarettes cost? These questions are in mind as state legislators establish criminal, and occupation safety and health laws against smoking in public.
Cigarettes contain a multitude of known carcinogens and toxic substances, such as acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, lead, arsenic, methanol, butane, and formaldehyde. The most prevalent substance in tobacco cigarettes is the addictive substance, nicotine (American Lung Association). The myriad of short term and long term health consequences of cigarette smoke is well known. Smoking tobacco cigarettes causes coronary heart disease, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), stroke, cancer, birth defects, reduced infertility, cataracts, type two diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other serious conditions, and death. According to the Center for Disease …show more content…
Personally, I suffer from asthma, a chronic respiratory illness that is characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, and coughing that is often exacerbated by environmental triggers. These symptoms are present on a “good day”; the respiratory symptoms do not disappear, they are only managed by a strict medication regimen. As a university student in an urban area, I encounter and manage many of my asthma triggers. However, the most insidious and ubiquitous trigger for me is cigarette smoke. At every bus stop, entrance to an academic building, or other outdoor public area, I am assaulted by noxious clouds of cigarette smoke. If I step away from one smoker, I only step into the path of another smoker; I cannot escape it. As a result, the heavy consequences of smoking are transferred to me, and others without explicit permission via second-hand
Cigarettes contain a multitude of known carcinogens and toxic substances, such as acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, lead, arsenic, methanol, butane, and formaldehyde. The most prevalent substance in tobacco cigarettes is the addictive substance, nicotine (American Lung Association). The myriad of short term and long term health consequences of cigarette smoke is well known. Smoking tobacco cigarettes causes coronary heart disease, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), stroke, cancer, birth defects, reduced infertility, cataracts, type two diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other serious conditions, and death. According to the Center for Disease …show more content…
Personally, I suffer from asthma, a chronic respiratory illness that is characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, and coughing that is often exacerbated by environmental triggers. These symptoms are present on a “good day”; the respiratory symptoms do not disappear, they are only managed by a strict medication regimen. As a university student in an urban area, I encounter and manage many of my asthma triggers. However, the most insidious and ubiquitous trigger for me is cigarette smoke. At every bus stop, entrance to an academic building, or other outdoor public area, I am assaulted by noxious clouds of cigarette smoke. If I step away from one smoker, I only step into the path of another smoker; I cannot escape it. As a result, the heavy consequences of smoking are transferred to me, and others without explicit permission via second-hand