Danger of Smoking for the Society - Essay Example

Danger Of Smoking For The Society Banning smoking is an issue that attracts supporting and opposing views. The proponents of the ban cite the health and financial reasons to support the abolition of public smoking and cigarette sale. According to the supporters of the abolition of smoking, the smokers have a high risk to develop medical conditions such as cancer, bronchitis, pneumonia, and cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, the opponents argue that cigarette selling is a source of revenues and creates employment. The critics hold tobacco companies employ many people, and the banning of cigarette sale and smoking will lead to loss of jobs. The tobacco products are sources of taxes, and thus the government should not ban smoking. Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of abolition is an important exercise. Smoking affects the health of the smokers and non-smokers. Banning of the cigarette sale and smoking is important to reduce the healthcare cost and financial burden of smokers, as well as, promote a healthier nation that can work productively. Smoking affects the health of the smokers and non-smokers. The World Health Organization report attributes many deaths to the smoking (Ash 3). The projections of the World Health Organization indicate that people who succumb to death from the smoking might reach ten million in 2020 (Ash 3-5). Notably, smoking in public affects the health of people, and does not discriminate against the age. The children raised by the families, which smoke, have high chances of developing health complications. For instance, such children exhibit health complications such as cardiovascular and neurobiological problems. According to Ash, a study focusing on pediatrics indicated that passive smoking affects the children, and the youngsters have higher chances of suffering from chronic diseases including sickle cell anemia (2-5). In this respect, it is important to ban the sale of the cigarettes in order to promote a nation that has healthier children. Smoking increases chances of contracting medical conditions such as asthma, which consequently retards the mental growth in children. Ash reports about a study in the United States that linked the children’s exposure to the smoke from the cigarette to ill health and poor reasoning capabilities (4). The indication is that the children brought up in the environment that promotes smoking have a high possibility of exhibiting the asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing and pains in the chest. The study confirms that the children that live in environment, which condones the smoking behavior develop health complications (Ash 5). It is noteworthy that smoking does not affect the children only. The adults are at a high risk of developing health complications including cancer and diseases of the lungs. Owing argues that the smoke from the cigarettes has harmful elements such as ammonia, benzene, and carbon dioxide (131). The chemicals are harmful and can promote the development of the various cancers and cause disturbing irritations. The harmful substances can disrupt the growth of the normal cells in the body (Owing 131). Thus, public smoking produces substances that cause irritation to the lungs and respiratory illness, and it is significant to prohibit the behavior. The smoke from the cigarettes affects the pregnant mothers. Owing perceives the mothers who smoke are at a high risk of delivering babies that weigh less than the normal weight (134). The indication is that the exposure of the pregnant mothers to the smoking tends to lower the chances of having a successful delivery. According to health experts, smoking has detrimental effects on the development of unborn children (Ash 4-8). Moreover, the babies delivered by smoking mothers have health complications that attack the heart. Ash contends that the smoking mothers can become infertile due to the disruption of the uterus (4). Proctor argues that the detrimental health consequences of the smoking cigarettes underscore the significance of banning the sale of the cigarettes (30). Due to the health implications of the smoking on the pregnant mothers, it is important to ban smoking and cigarette sale to avoid the death of the unborn babies. Smoking presents financial implications to the smokers. Notably, the smokers spend many funds to purchase cigarettes and consult health specialists of smoke-related illness. Medical procedures such as chemotherapy are expensive, and patients have to attend the health checkups frequently. Hence, the patients spend many funds to cater for the routine medical checkups. A smoker who contracts these diseases faces an enormous challenge to cater for medical bills (Owing 131). In this respect, smoking wastes a lot of money that people can use in productive activities. Thus, smokers have to utilize a large sum of money to quench the undying thirst of cigarettes. It is a common truth that smokers tend to consume many packets of cigarettes on a daily basis. Such consumption implies that the smokers should have ready cash to purchase cigarettes since smoking is a habitual tendency. In effect, the smokers spend enormous sums of money to buy cigarettes to quench the addictive thirst (Owing 140). Critics might argue that the generic cigarettes are alternatives to the expensive tobacco products. The generic cigarettes might be cheap, but the low-income earners find it difficult to afford them. The implication is that the low-income earners have to forgo many essential things in order to purchase the cigarettes. They spend all their incomes in purchasing cigarettes and overlook the pertinent requirements of living. Thus, smoking affects constrains smokers rendering them unable to afford a decent lifestyle. The abolition will ease the financial burden of the smokers and channel the money to economically viable projects. United States spends many funds to manage cigarette-related medical conditions. Zagorsky reports that, “on average, smokers spend more than $700 annually in the United States on tobacco products” (370-374). The management of tobacco-related illness such as lung cancer, bronchitis, pneumonia, and cardiovascular diseases is extremely expensive. States such as California spend “approximately $13.3 billion annually on the direct healthcare expenses” (Meyers). Similarly, the state encounters losses amounting to about “$10.4 billion due to decreased productivity emanating from smoking-related illness and absenteeism” (Meyers). Evidently, smoking poses many constraints to the healthcare systems. Whenever the families of smokers fail to raise enough funds to clear the medical bill, the government has to cater for such expenses. Owing asserts that some smokers manifest inability to recover fast after critical medical procedures including plastic surgery (131). The delayed healing process implies a longer stay in the hospitals and subsequent accumulation of medical bills. The nation can reduce the spending on the cigarette-related health problems by banning the smoking. The critics observe that the tobacco-related products represent one of the items, which United States markets heavily advertise. Statistics of consumers’ goods advertisement reveal that giant manufacturers of cigarettes spent “about $12.49 billion to market cigarettes in 2006” (American Lung Association 1). The mode of advertisement and promotion of tobacco product in televisions and social media generates income for the channels used to promote the tobacco products. Similarly, many people earn their living by working in the tobacco industries. Such people have casual or permanent jobs in the tobacco companies. In this respect, the tobacco companies create direct and indirect employment for the citizens. The jobs enable the smokers pay the taxes. The increased rate of unemployment implies that the abolition of the cigarette sale will destabilize the lives of the people employed by the tobacco companies. Consequently, the unemployment can result in people engaging in antisocial behavior such as theft. Thus, the critics contend that it is not advisable to ban smoking because such action will render people jobless. The tobacco products generate many revenues for the nation because they attract a large percentage of the taxes. “The federal and national excise tax for the one pack of cigarettes is approximately $1.01 and $1.36 respectively” (Heartland Institute). Some cities in the United States charge many taxes on the tobacco products. Therefore, banning the sale will reduce the revenue that the government collects from the tobacco products. Likewise, the abolition of the cigarette sale might render the small businesses unable to operate. It is noteworthy that many small businesses depend on the small products including the cigarettes to obtain their revenue. Hence, the banning of cigarette sale and smoking will result in the loss of revenues, and livelihood of the small business owners. The opponents should realize that advertising cigarettes in mainstream media develops smoking tendencies in youth. The advertisements tend to arouse curiosity in youth to experiment tobacco products by smoking. A US study in 2002 revealed that youths depict a high tendency to smoke when they watch the advertisements (American Lung Association 1). According to the study, promotion of tobacco products initiates thoughts of smoking in youth. In fact, statistics indicate that tobacco promotions are attributable to “46400 smoking-related deaths” (American Lung Association 1). Consequently, the youth who watch tobacco promotions proceed to smoke out of curiosity to engage in the seemingly attractive smoking behavior as evident in the advertising campaigns. The attempt of youth to engage in smoking behavior implies that the nation is at risk of losing an extremely productive generation to cigarettes. Hence, the advertisements are costly for the family of smokers and the nation at large. The high number of the youth who may fall victims of smoking through advertisement compels the government to utilize public health revenues in case of their health management (American Lung Association 1). Thus, if the government does not prohibit the promotion and advertisement of tobacco products large population of youth and adult will perish because of smoking. In conclusion, the banning of the cigarette sale and smoking is important to reduce the healthcare costs, smoking-related medical conditions, and financial burdens of the smokers and their families. Smoking is extremely dangerous to the society, and the non-smokers suffer the health implications of the behavior. Notably, smoking contributes to tobacco-related complications such as lung cancer, bronchitis, cardiovascular diseases, congenital heart disease, stillbirth, and pregnancy complications. On top of this, smoking families waste a lot of income to purchase cigarettes. The addictive nature of smoking plugs smokers into a huge spending, which culminates in compromising saving to buy tobacco products. Similarly, smokers spend a lot of money seeking medical attention from tobacco related complications. Thus, it is important for the government to prohibit smoking by banning the cigarette selling. Banning the sale and smoking of the cigarettes is the ultimate solution that can eliminate the aforementioned detrimental effects of smoking. The abolition of smoking will create a healthier nation that can work towards achieving the economic missions of the country. Abolition of the sale of the cigarette is the right thing to do. Works Cited American Lung Association. Tobacco Industry Marketing. State of Tobacco Control. Web. 30 Apr 2015 http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/tobacco-industry-marketing.html Ash. Secondhand Smoke: The Impact on Children. Web. 30 Apr. 2015 http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_596.pdf Heartland Institute. In Defense of Smokers. Web. 30 Apr. 2015 https://www.heartland.org/ideas/smokers-rights Meyers, Travis. “Submission: Support of new bill would reduce tobacco-related disease.” Daily Bruin 29 Apr 2015. Print. Owing, James. Focus on Smoking And Health Research. New York: Nova Publishers, 2005. Print. Proctor, Robert. “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition.” Tobacco Control, 22 (2013): 27-30. Zagorsky, John. “The Wealth Effects of Smoking.” Tobacco Control 13 (2004): 370-374. Read More