Should All Tobacco Products Be Banned - Essay Example

Should All Tobacco Products Be Banned? IntroductionCenter for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that cigarette smoking which is the burning of tobacco leads to more than 443,000 premature deaths and over 8 million others suffer serious illnesses that are a result of smoking (Center for Disease Control, 2009). National Institute of Drug Abuse also released statistics which indicate that tobacco is among the preventable leading causes of diseases, disabilities and deaths in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012).

This therefore raises concern of whether the tobacco and all its subsequent products should be banned. Tobacco industries are one of the largest sectors that raise the tax revenues. Banning it would therefore result to losing all these millions of dollars that tobacco industries provide. The tax returns from tobacco are also generated from its numerous advertisements and exportation and therefore the country will lose a lot of its income. Thousands of citizens are addicted to tobacco and banning it will therefore have its own repercussions from the citizens who will not have been mentally and physically prepared to stop its use.

With the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products being high in some parts of the country, banning this product will therefore mean massive loss of jobs for those working in the tobacco industry’s directly or indirectly and even loss of livelihood for the tobacco farmers. The government therefore must be prepared for the increase in unemployment as a result of this ban and also an increase in mentally incapacitated individuals who have been forced to stop tobacco intake whereas they had not been sufficiently prepared.

Having presented those arguments, it is time for the reality to be examined. Taxation loss is definitely going to dent the economy. On the other hand however, the dent might not be as large as the opponents might want to indicate. This is because a ban in tobacco will reduce the negative health effects that accompany tobacco use as stipulated in the introduction sector. The government will therefore be saving on the health costs and this will almost balance the reduction in tax revenue. Banning tobacco does not mean that the government will not come up with other industries which can accommodate those who were depending on tobacco for their livelihood.

A campaign to ban tobacco and introduce other stimulants that are not necessarily harmful to the people like what happens in rehabilitation centers for those addicted to nicotine should be enforced. Countrywide sensitization and ample warning may also be provided with the ban taking place in stages and not at once. This will provide ample time for the dependents of tobacco to start reducing the intake and in time completely stop using it and hence by the time the products ban is fully implemented, the tobacco products users will not be at loss.

ConclusionIn the end, the benefits that arise from banning the product are more than the cons. Some states have already started implementing the ban from even their universities including in California, Texas among others. Tough anti-smoking legislations have also been formulated to assist the implementation and sustenance of these laws (Campbell, 2003). ReferencesCampbell, D. (5th June 2003). “Ban all tobacco - US health chief.” The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/jun/05/usnews.

smokingCenter for Disease Control. (2009). Tobacco use: Targeting the nation’s killer. Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/jun/05/usnews.smokingNational Institute on Drug Abuse. (December 2012). DrugFacts: Cigarettes and other tobacco products. Retrieved from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cigarettes- other-tobacco-products