Smoking: A Basic Human Right - Essay Example

The so-called civilization and unending research on health matters is an intrusion of a basic human right. It has led to the crippling of a once-enjoyed basic human right with claims that addiction threatens human health. 

However, today smoking publicly is prohibited in many parts of the world based on arguments that it is harmful to even those not directly involved. As a result of these claims, a basic human right has been violated and the freedom of smokers, revoked. This is a total injustice to smokers and those against smoking should show the much-deserved respect for the greatest human addiction. There are rising cases of obesity in the United States due to the consumption of foods with high-calorie levels such as chocolate cakes.

However, rather than taking a stand against the sale of such foods in restaurants, policymakers are focused on banning smoking in public places forgetting that cigarettes have much lower calorie levels. Is this not direct oppression and violation of a basic human right? Did we not fight for freedom during the fight for independence? Research shows that smoking affects people around a smoking person through inhalation of cigarette emissions. As such, smoking in public is deemed to be a violation of other people’s rights due to endangerment of their health.

However, the effects of smoking on secondary users are seemingly inevitable due to the uncontrollability of smoke. As such, instead of banning smoking publicly, perhaps, scientists should focus on making inventions that prevent the harmful chemical emissions of cigarettes from reaching people around. As if enough damage has not already been done, policymakers have now forged on to attack tobacco producers. For example, “In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the nation’s largest cigarette makers to publicly admit that they had lied for decades about the dangers of smoking” (Yost, 2015, para. 1). In some countries cigarette packs have messages showing the health implications of smoking such as causing cancer, risking pregnancy, causing infertility, and affecting the respiratory system among others.

These high levels of attacking cigarettes are risking human happiness even more. Although smoking affects the brain by weakening some senses such as taste and eyesight, it has a calming effect. Today’s world has many difficult encounters ranging from work stress to other areas and having a smoke is not so bad. Additionally, smoking is seemingly less harmful than other drugs such as alcohol which in addition to addiction and negative health implications, cause impaired judgment. Therefore, the unending attacks on smoking ought to cease immediately and let people have their basic human rights.

Cigarettes may contribute to air pollution through emissions of tar, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and about 7000 other chemic,als but this is a relatively small contribution considering there might be other components in the atmosphere that are not known.