Banning Smoking in Public Places - Essay Example

Should smoking be banned in public places Cigarette smoking should be banned from publicplaces such as restaurants and malls. Several research studies have proven that cigarette smoking causes a lot of health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, and causes harm to children as well. However, the main reason why cigarette smoking should be banned from public places is that its smoke, also called passive smoke, can caused harm to those near the smoker or within the enclosed vicinity. Inhaling smoke from a cigarette smoker will cause similar health problems as the smoker will have. There are studies to prove this case. Even though there are no laws that prohibit smokers from smoking, the places where cigarette smoking should be allowed can be regulated. Banning cigarette smoking in public places will do a lot in preventing illnesses caused by passive smoke. Introduction Smoking as a habit has been around for a long time now, and it has been regarded as both a bad habit and symbol of status. Up until the nineteenth century, cigar-smoking was almost exclusively done by socially elite males. Cigarettes were actually derived from cigars as they were essentially tobacco residues which were swept and collected and later on smoked by poor people. Cigarette smoking then became popular in the 1880's, with the advent of cigarette-making machines. Though cigarettes were cheaper and widely available, smoking it was still not popular at that time. Cigarette smoking just became popular World War I when tobacco companies gave away large quantities of cigarettes to American soldiers to boost their morale. Only after this event that Americans were hooked to cigarette smoking (Grannis, n.d.). It was only after a few years of research that people learned of the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. One of the Surgeon General's findings was cigarette smoking was not only harmful to the smoker but also to the non-smokers (commonly referred to as passive or second-hand smokers) surrounding them. As a result several action groups sought total cigarette bans on shopping malls, theaters and other public places. Bad effects of smoking Various cancers were eventually found out to be linked with cigarette smoking. These cancers develop due to the 43 carcinogens and other chemicals found in cigarette smoke, leading to carcinogenesis or the formation of cancer causing cells due to smoking (Burns, 1991). In the 1950's, extensive research about the relationship between lung cancer and cigarette smoking were done in the U.K. and the United States. Findings from these studies showed that smoking and lung cancer were indeed related. Previously, lung cancer was one of the rarest types of cancers in the world. In the 1970's, cases of lung cancer suddenly boomed when cigarette smoking went popular during the period. This sudden increase made lung cancer into one of the deadliest cancers in the world (qtd. From Grannis, n.d.). Lungs are not the only organs in the body that are affected by cigarette smoking. The brain and the rest of the nervous system is also affected by cigarette smoke. The brain's cognitive functions which handles the brain's capacity for stimuli and attention as well as regulation of automatic body processes such as digestion and breathing is negatively affected by cigarette smoke. This happens when blood containing carcinogens are pumped into the brain's bloodstream. Different carcinogens have different physiological effects. For example, nicotine acts upon the brain within 10 seconds, causing an almost instantaneous mood change in the user ("TheHealthConsequencesofSmoking.." 2005). Independent studies made in the University of Aberdeen and University of Edinburgh investigated the various effects of smoking in the cognitive skills of smokers and non-smokers. The results, published in an issue of New Scientist showed that most smokers fail in five unrelated cognitive tests. Another series of tests done in 1947 involving around 465 volunteers proved some of the effects of smoking to cognitive skills. The volunteers were monitored since the 1947 when they were all about 11 years old, and they were again monitored and analyzed in the years 2000 and 2004 when all the volunteers are about 64 years old. The volunteers were assessed for their non-verbal reasoning, memory and learning, how quickly they processed information, decision making and constructions of tasks. Startling facts about this study have shown that current and ex-smokers performed badly in the assessment tests even if their IQ were exceptionally early in-life. Other factors were done childhood IQ, education, occupation and alcohol consumption was taken into consideration. ("Smoking is bad for your brain", 2004). Effects on Passive smoking Main or chronic smokers are not the only ones that are at risk of contacting cancers and other diseases from smoking. Non-smokers who are continually exposed to cigarette smoke are called passive, involuntary or second-hand smokers and they are also at constant risk of contacting cancer and other respiratory diseases. Actually, the entirety of cigarette smoke's volume is referred to as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and is divided into "mainstream" smoke (smoke coming from the smoker) and "side stream" smoke (smoke coming from the cigarette itself). Not only does ETS pose health risks, it is also considered as a major indoor pollutant because of the more than 4,000 chemicals present in it, 60 of which are believed to be carcinogens (qtd from "Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). Comprehensive reports from the US National Research Council, the US Surgeon General, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the UK Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health since the 1980's has confirmed the harmful effects of passive smoking to the public. Environmental agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency compiled these reports from these results and published their own report in 1992 which declared ETS as a known human carcinogen or Class A harmful substance ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). These results from the 1980's were followed-up by more recent reviews and reports particularly by the UK Government-sanctioned Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH), reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Child Health, a report by the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and finally a report made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). Passive smoking and lung cancer Over the past 25 years, there have been more than 50 studies made regarding the relationship of ling cancer risk and passive smoke on non-smokers, and most of these tests show high risks for non-smokers which were exposed to side stream smoke for prolonged periods of time. Data analysis from these studies also shows there are statistically significant risks of lung cancers that non-smokers can incur while sharing living quarters with smokers. The exact figures of lung cancer given this condition are 20% for women and 30% for men. The risks increase at a rate of 16 and 19 percent respectively in the workplace ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). Passive smoking and heart disease There have also been evidences that there is a link between smoking and heart disease. The first qualitative reports came from the U.S. Surgeon General and U.S Surgeon National Research Council both in 1986. Both of these reports have concluded that there is a link between ETS and coronary heart disease (CHD). There has been disputes over these results because of the fact that the biological evidence was feasible although the epidemiological evidence was open to doubt ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). In the 1990's, studies conducted by Glantz and Parmley revealed that heart diseases that come from passive smoking placed third in the list of avoidable diseases in the United States falling behind active smoking and alcohol abuse respectively. The studies also revealed that the risk for heart-disease for non-smokers living with smokers is around 30%, a very significant figure indeed (Glantz and Parmley, 1991, 1995). Passive smoking and respiratory diseases There are many restrained but otherwise noteworthy effects of passive smoking that are evident in nonsmoking adults. These include: severe coughing, increased phlegm production, chest irritation and reduced lung function. ETS can severely affect asthma patients as it is also found out that cigarette smoke acts as an initiator of asthma attacks. It is estimated that among the 3.5 million people affected by asthma in the UK, 80% of them are triggered by ETS ("The impact of asthma survey", 1996). The impact of passive smoking on children About 50% or700 million children around the world are in danger of becoming passive smokers due to the smoking habits of 1.2 billion adults. The World Health Organization report suggest that passive smoke causes "bronchitis, pneumonia, coughing and wheezing, asthma attacks, middle ear infection, cot death, and possibly cardiovascular and neurobiological impairment in children" ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). Young children are very much vulnerable to the negative effects of passive smoking. It is estimated that half of the children in the UK are highly exposed to passive smoking at home. This was shown in a 1992 report of the Royal College of Physicians entitled "Smoking and the Young" which revealed that there are about 17,000 children under the age of five admitted annually in hospitals in the UK were affected with diseases that resulted from passive cigarette smoke ("Smoking and the young", 1992). Conclusion A public ban smoking should be declared so that non-smokers will not be affected. Smokers should be aware that they also endanger the ones around them (Sturgeon, 2004). The reduction in cigarette smoke emissions in public places would equate to lesser deaths form second-hand smoking (Sturgeon, 2004). Recent studies and research have provided the medical community with much needed data on the effects of second-hand smoking. Through scientific methods, the negative health effects of passive/second-hand smoke have been found out. Among the serious health effects of second-hand smoke found out recently are: Heart disease, sudden infant death syndrome, and lung and nasal sinus cancer. On the other hand, children are the ones that are severely affected by second-hand smoking with effects ranging from induction and exacerbation of asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, middle ear infection, chronic respiratory symptoms, and low birth weight. On the other hand, passive smoking causes acute and chronic heart disease and lung cancer in adults. Although the negative effects of second-hand smoke are less severe than active smoking, the diseases that result from this is still significant. Tobacco companies have constantly covered-up these effects, and many of studies made against the effects of second-hand smoke were undermined by them ("Passive smoking: A summary of evidence", 2004). The State of California's total public ban on smoking is a great example of how the harmful effects of smoking could be deterred with enough discipline and consumer knowledge. With these results, banning smoking on public places should be made into a major health objective. And it should always be remembered that the implementation of such a ban would not only benefit non-smokers, but also smokers who are trying to quit smoking (Boas, 2004). Bibliography Boas, Caroline. 15 November, 2003. Should smoking be banned in public places The yes argument. 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"Respiratory health effects of passive smoking: Lung cancer and other disorders". The report of the US Environmental Protection Agency, 1993 "Report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health". The Stationery Office, 1998 "Smoking and the Young" 1992. Royal College of Physicians "Smoking 'is bad for your brain" 9 December, 2004. BBC. Retrieved 5 June 2006 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4078841.stm Sturgeon, Nicola. Jan. 13, 2004. Why Scotland should ban smoking in public places. Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. Retrieved 5 June 2006 from http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/lo/features/7011117.html "The Health Consequences of Smoking on the Human Body; Surgeon General's 2004 Report" October 23, 2005. GDCADA (Greater dallas council on alcohol and drug abuse).Retrieved 5 June 2006 from http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/tobacco/surgeon/brain/brainbones.htm "The health consequences of involuntary smoking". 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