Kaija+Melendez

Bullying Awareness Over the Years

Kaija Melendez Annual Project

__Don't Be A **//Butt//**head: In Favor of Smoking Ban__  Deaths caused by HIV, drugs, alcohol use, vehicle accidents, murders, and suicides combined does not even amount to the number of deaths caused by tobacco us e alone. According to the CDC, [|46 million Americans], age 18 and above, smoke. There are approximately 443,000 smoking related deaths in the U.S annually. Seeing these statistics makes me want the use of cigarettes in the U.S to be illegal. I am for the ban of smoking for three reasons: First, It takes a toll on one's health, which will lead to death. Second, because it not only affects those who smoke, but other individuals around them. Lastly, its toxic chemicals threaten the environment, which is already in a state of danger.

 Cigarettes should be illegal because overtime, it can raise an individual’s chances of developing life threatening diseases and illnesses. There are an estimated [|4,000]chemicals that are used to make cigarettes. About 69 of them are responsible for causing a variety of cancers. Some ingredients in cigarettes, like Nicotine and Cyanide are actually poisonous. This continuation of poisoning can lead to [|health complications] such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and emphysema (deterioration of the lung tissue). Ultimately, smoking increases your chances of getting sick and, eventually, dying. However, if smoking were to be eliminated, the risk would be noticeably reduced.

 Smoking should also be banned because it endangers people who are around individuals that smoke. Smokers may not realize it, but they are only inhaling about 10% of their smoke. The remaining 90% is left lingering in the air. Now that the smoke is out in the open, it raises a major problem. Basically anyone within close range is exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. Second hand smoking is a serious matter because others who are around smokers, can often experience the same symptoms as if they were smoking. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have come to a mutual agreement that secondhand smoke can cause [|cancer]. Childrenare even more susceptible to the effects of secondhand smoke, due to the fact that they are still growing and[| developing]. Having the use of cigarettes abolished would greatly benefit those individuals who are nonsmokers and those who are trying to live a healthy and pure lifestyle.

 Smoking cigarettes pollutes the air and just has a negative impact on the environment. The pollution, however, does not just stop in the air. Cigarettes are also harmful to the land we live on, and even the water we drink. From the start, the amount of resources used to make cigarettes is astonishing. [|Manufacturers] use about four miles of paper every hour just to roll and package the paper. This means that for every 300 cigarettes produced, one tree has been wasted.

 The breakdown of cigarettes is just as detrimental to the environment as is the creation. There are millions of cigarettes that are thrown onto the ground everyday. They are just left there to decompose which, on average, takes about 25 years. This is more than enough time for all of the chemicals and additives to be absorbed by the soil and contaminate plants. They also end up in rivers or lakes, where aquatic animals may accidentally consume them and die from it. As we know, global warming has been one troubling aspect in our ecosystem, but by getting rid of cigarettes and smoking, we can resolve one of our important environmental problems.

 One may argue that a smoking ban takes away their right as a people to freely do what they feel and that it only concerns them. However, this is not the case. Smoking affects the smoker, as well as those around them. It is not about taking away an individual's right to smoke. It is about preserving one’s right to live in a healthy environment. Everyone has the right to air that is clean and pure. It is not fair to all of the other nonsmoking people, who have to breathe in contaminated air and the smoking ban would ensure their safety.

 Others may say that smokers can just quit smoking, because it is an addiction. This may be true, however there multiple ways for one to be helped. One way is to just quit “cold turkey”, or all at once. This is a common way smokers try to quit. Another way is to use nicotine patches. These are small, square bandages, that release small amounts of nicotine to avoid nicotine [|withdrawal]. There are also various medicines and pills one can take to reduce the pleasurable effects one feels when [|smoking].

 In conclusion, I believe that the government should enforce a smoking ban all throughout the United States. This would immensely reduce the death rate caused by smoking and even improve the lives of those who are at risk of smoking related illnesses. It would also provide us with a healthier living environment. It is not worth jeopardizing your health for temporary relief. If you can’t stop smoking, cancer will.