Should Cigarette Smoking be Banned - Essay Example

Therefore, the claim that the federal government has no power to ban tobacco use is inconsistent. Truly speaking, the government is scared of the political responsibility that comes with imposing a ban on tobacco. As Washington continues with the political game, many Americans continue to suffer the consequences of uncontrolled smoking. We must agree that placing a complete ban on tobacco and tobacco products could be impossible due to the large number of smokers involved, approximately 450 million, and lack of adequate law enforcement personnel.

However, the federal government should pass relevant laws to help curb this worrying trend. Tobacco use should be controlled due to various negative effects. First and most importantly, it is a serious health risk. According to Britton, “The greatest health impacts of smoking are on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases” (Britton 2). These diseases range from bronchitis, heart disease, and different strains of cancer. Cigarette contains several additives, approximately 599, all of which have varied health complications to smokers.

According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), tobacco causes more deaths than all deaths resulting from alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, murders, suicides, and HIV combined (2007). It is estimated that tobacco causes 443,000 deaths annually. This number includes deaths from secondhand smoke. Secondly, smoking should be banned because it violates non-smokers’ right of choice. Whoever chooses to smoke despite the negative side effects of smoking should not be denied the chance to do so. However, the lack of an effective way to control non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke is justification enough for the government to ban smoking.

Smokers are people who have made the choice of dying for what they like, and should not, under whatever circumstance, drag non-smokers to their deathbeds. Money is yet another reason why smoking should be banned. Buying a cigarette may seem to be a painless financial involvement. However, if the amount spent in a month or a year is accumulated, it could literally start of a medium size business. Therefore, by banning tobacco and its related products, the government will be instilling a saving culture in its citizens.

The advantages of investing in business cannot be disputed. The cost of treatment to victims of cigarette smoking is a burden to the government. Medicine and facilities for treatment of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases resulting from excessive smoking are expensive, but the government’s hands are tied. These funds could have helped in fulfilling other key government obligations such as education, social welfare, retirement, and security. Lastly, smoking should be banned or regulated as a means of curbing its growing influence.

Unfortunately, smokers tend to influence those around them tremendously. Students and children who watch their colleagues, parents, or peers smoke have to face the challenge of resisting smoking daily. This is even worse when the smoker glorifies the smoking. As simple as it may seem, many people are led to smoking in this manner. Smoking decision should be personal and not influenced by persons who have signed their death certificates. Despite the wide criticism, tobacco use has many advantages.

To begin with, many rural economies rely heavily on tobacco farming.