Ban on Smoking in Public Places - Research Proposal Example

Ban on Smoking in Public Places (California) The transformation of human beings and the alterationin their status from cavemen living in the Stone Age to the present day modern man is marked by technological advancements. On one hand, these technological advancements have made life so much easier for humans but, on the other hand, its negative and unconstructive effects on man’s psychology cannot be neglected altogether. With the increasing mental tensions in the society due to amplified workload, people have become greatly inclined towards smoking and other harmful activities in order to divulge their frustration. It is a known fact that people who live and work around smokers are equally exposed to health risks and it has become a subject of intense debates all around the world lately. Smoking in public places is even more hazardous to health because, this way, smokers are not only bringing their own health to risk but also the health of others around them who do not smoke. California is the first state of the United States of America to impose a ban on smoking in public places. There has been a ban on smoking in restaurants, offices, manufacturing plants and other work places since 1995. Only bars and nightclubs were provided exclusion from these smoking bans only after the development of proper and appropriate ventilation systems in order to prevent health risks posed by the smoke emanating from cigarettes and cigars in these enclosed bars and clubs. Most of the doctors and the people associated with medicine support the smoking bans in public places. It clearly indicates that smoking has more risks attached to it than a few advantages as claimed by the smoking advocates. For instance, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, Stanton A. Glantz, claims that the bar ban is one of the most momentous things happening in the history of the country. If the government manages to enforce them successfully in the country, these bans will spread across the country in no time given the fact that California is the biggest and the most diverse state of the United States of America. However, California State officials state that technology has not yet developed to the point where the non-smokers can be provided with the proper ventilation systems in the bars and nightclubs. Therefore, casinos, clubs and bars are forced to put a ban on smoking after midnight. The act can be justified on the basis of a very simple rational concept that it is inequitable rather unfair to non-smokers to suffer just because of the smokers want to pour their hearts our trough cigarette smoke (Terry). As far as the Californian doctors are concerned, they too support the expansion of already strict smoking laws. Most of the accomplished doctors of the state maintain that smoking should be prohibited in almost all the outdoor public places as well as the indoor places. For this purpose, The California Medical Association’s House of Delegates passed a resolution provoking the legislators of the state to put a ban on smoking in public areas like malls, bank lobbies, clubs, restaurants and bars. While describing the sheer need for these smoking bans, Dr. Howard Lang commented that tobacco is a killer and it is essential to do everything in our control to provide protection to non-smokers from secondhand smoke. The resolution itself and the constant stress of the doctors to enforce smoking bans in public areas of the fact are the testimony to the fact that smoking is indeed injurious to health and proper steps must be taken to limit its ever increasing detrimental effects. Moreover, the resolution written by the doctors from the Los Angeles County Medical Association was the result of approximately 400,000 almost every year due to the excessive use of tobacco. Its objective was to make the society smoke free until the year 2000. At first, the original resolution demanded the smoking ban in bars and restaurants only, however, later on; it was expanded to all outdoor as well as indoor public places in the State of California. All these steps taken by the state in collaboration with the doctors and medical experts evidently point towards the hazards of smoking in public areas and they were enforced only to ensure the safety of the masses and improved public health ("Doctors Ask Wider California Smoking Ban").   Smoking advocates and the people criticizing smoking ban laws argue that these bans are unbinding and brutal. They are disastrously dangerous for bars, nightclubs and the restaurants in terms of economy and tourism. They claim that the laws compelling the bars to prohibit smoking after midnight are highly unlikely to keep patrons away from smoking inside the bars thereby making them unenforceable. Another reason for their disapproval regarding the smoking bans in public areas is related to the fall in the number of smoker visitors to the restaurants. This can prove fatal for the economy of the restaurant or the state as a whole. However, on the other hand, health risk is not the only reason behind these smoking bans, In fact, there are other factors involved, most important of them being the fact that if smoking is allowed in the public areas, it will turn public beach meant for public recreation into a private ashtray which in turn is even more lethal for tourism. Furthermore, lighting up cigarettes in bone-dry public parks is exceptionally dangerous given the fact that dry places catch fire sooner than possibly any other public place. The remnants of cigarette do not disintegrate completely. They become a part of the beach sand or the walking ground ultimately becoming a part of the sea water. This sea water containing harmful ingredients is not only hurtful for sea-life but human beings as well. It becomes a part of their drinking water and ultimately becomes a cause of various lung and skin diseases. Apart from filtering into land and sea, it remains on the upper surface for quite a long time. It is highly probable that the kids and toddlers frolicking around the parks and beaches pick them up making these remnants a part of their diet, consequently, destroying their digestive systems temporarily or even permanently. Additionally, the pets and stray animals like dogs, cats etc. lick these places all the time. These leftovers are equally injurious to their health beyond any doubt (Morrison). Hence, it is indeed pertinent to say that smoking is not only deadly for the health of smokers but it also poses a threat to the health of the people living and working around smokers. In addition to that, the environment is severely affected due to the poisonous smoke emanating for the cigarettes, cigars or other smoking items. Smoking, one hand, provides temporary relief to the smokers, however, its long term effects are lethal to the point that they begin to degenerate natural digestive system as well as other vital organs of the body gradually. Therefore, it is justified to put a ban on smoking in public areas to ensure the greater good and allowing smoking in these regions would be highly unfair to the present as well as future generations of mankind. In short, it is not wrong to conclude that this ban would result in good health effects as well as protect the environment from contamination. Works Cited "Doctors Ask Wider California Smoking Ban." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Mar. 1991. Web. 11 July 2013. Morrison, Patt. "Outdoor Smoking Bans: Thanks, We'll Keep 'em." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 09 July 2013. Web. 11 July 2013. . Terry, Don. "CALIFORNIA'S BAN TO CLEAR SMOKE INSIDE MOST BARS."The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Dec. 1997. Web. 11 July 2013. . Read More