Whether Smoking Is Allowed in Public Places or Not - Essay Example

Whether smoking is allowed in public places or not Whether smoking is allowed in public places or not Smoking is an exercise in which substances like tobacco are burned and the smoke is inhaled or tasted. Direct or indirect smoking through inhalation of secondary smoke makes someone to be at risk for a host of health problems. Smoking has great disadvantages although to some extend, it has some disadvantages. The degree is that the disadvantages mostly outweigh the disadvantages like discussed below. The first point of argument is that smoking should be banned in public places. People should not be allowed to smoke in wherever places they want. Passive smoking causes harm to a different people. Second hand smoke is harmful especially to young babies and children. It causes ear infections, SIDS, breathing problems and severe diseases to them. Kids require special and important protection against second hand smoke. They should be protected against also third hand smoke that gets trapped in future, carpet and fabric and twigs around even after people butt out. Children and babies are vulnerable to third hand smoke and second hand smoke because they breath faster meaning that their rate of inhaling smoke is very high, their immune systems are not that much developed, they are less able to complain about being around smoke because they have less power and finally are less able to leave areas that have smoke by themselves. Children and babies that are exposed to higher risk of smoke have many serious problems. They have more risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome, cough and wheeze more, have more cases of asthma, have ear infections and also have more chance of taking smoke by themselves, as they grow. The sequel usages of tobacco have negative effects in the young women health. As it is discussed by researchers, about 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking or exposure to tobacco smoke. Breast cancer has been suppressed by lung cancer as the woman giant death cause due to cancer. The third leading cancer is the colon cancer that also causes death in young women. There is a dose related risk of colon cancer in smokers. Young women addicted to smoking also have an increased risk of gynecologic cancer. There exists a premenopausal tobacco use and breast cancer, especially is a lady smokes before the birth of the first child. Smoking in young women contributes to the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia for HPV – 16 or HPV – 18. It also causes cancer in the bladder, pancreas and kidney. Smoking women have a six-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction when compared with nonsmoking women. Smoking of tobacco causes endothelial damage and platelet aggregation which contributes to thrombosis. Smoking causes the stroke risk that is almost doodled in smoking individuals (Carol et al, 1998). Smoking during pregnancy is very dangerous. It not only puts the woman’s health at risk, but also the health of the fetal baby, as well. There is a dangerous chemical that are contained in cigarettes that increase the risk of numerous pregnancy complications some of which are fatal for baby or the mother. Smoking can prevent a woman from getting pregnant. Second hand smoking reduces the fertility in booth women and men. About 60% of smoking women are like to infertile comparing the nonsmoker women. The loss of pregnancy that unexpected is a tragic event, no matter in which stage. In smoking women, miscarriages especially occur during the first three months of pregnancy but can occur after 20 weeks of gestation in rare occasions. Smoking increases the danger of miscarriage and stillbirth, due to dangerous inhaled chemicals in cigarettes. There is slow fetal development and problems with the placenta that can lead stillbirth or miscarriage. According to researchers, nicotine causes contractions in the fallopian tubes, which prevent an embryo from passing through. This causes an ectopic pregnancy that occurs when fertilized eggs implant outside of the uterus, or in the abdomen. Smoking in pregnant women leads to early delivery. Babies of early delivery may be affected through visual and hearing impairments, mental handicap, learning and behavioral difficulty and complications that lead to even death. Oxygen and nutrients reach the baby through placenta and umbilical code. Smoke inhalation exposes the fetus to toxins in smoke from tobacco and the chemicals damages the placenta. This affects the movement of oxygen and nutrients in the placenta to the baby. Smoking during pregnancy makes the baby have problems with the heart, cleft lip and cleft palate. It reduces the weight of the born baby and also leads to other disabilities and health problems. Second hand smoking causes cancer that is very dangerous to the fetus. Women who are nursing pass along harmful chemical from cigarettes to their babies through breastfeeding. To advice women on this, the only way to prevent the complication on the baby is the women to quit smoking (Seltzer et al 2009). There exist different campaigns against cigarette smoking communicating that this vice causes death. People block and ignore the information and signs that are given to them. Smoking permits everything around it. Smoking people have smelly breath, clothes, hair, and in indoors smoking their rooms are also smelly. Cigarette smoke stench is very penetrating and hard to get away with. Even if a smoker quits smoking, the stench of smoke or odor continues for a long time. The other effect of smoke that most people do not take into consideration is that, it stains the teeth yellow or even brown. The fact remains that the cigarette stain that occur in the teeth is vey difficult to eliminate and probably ends up costing a considerable amount of money. The affected teeth are disgusting because of unhygienic image and also make smokers look old. Another effect of smoking is that it ends up affecting the smokers’ personal economy. Cigarette prices differ depending with the country. However, at an affordable price the regular cigarette consumption will finally take its economic toll. In tobacco smoke, there are agents that cause cancer those damage important genes which control the growth of body cells. Smoking causes the cells to grow abnormally or even reproduce rapidly. It affects the function systems of immune by causing oxidative stress. In turn, it causes mutation of DNA setting the cancer stage and heart diseases. Oxidative stress contributes to the aging process. It is also related with higher levels of chronic inflammation that is another damaging process that results to oxidative stress. In today’s world, usage of tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death. No one would have been willing to inhale any toxin into his or her body if it were not for the addiction to nicotine (Carol et al, 1998). From researchers, tobacco inhalation cause decreased bone density. It increases the risk for osteoporosis, a condition in which bones enfeeble and become more likely to fracture. Smoking at work often leads to higher expenses for employers. The Canadian conference board has estimated that the average employee who smokes costs the employers $3396 a year. These are because of absenteeism of employees at work, lower productivity, unscheduled smoke breaks, maintenance of smoking areas, damage of property and health and fire insurance costs. Other researchers report that non smoking employees have difficulty concentrating where ETS is present. Smoking is not allowed in situations that include working with flammable, combustible and explosive properties. From this situation, it is clear that smoking of tobacco has not been restricted to protect employees from the health effects of ETS but rather to prevent them from the fire and explosion hazards. Smoking should also be banned so as to prevent hand to the mouth digestion of chemicals. Drinks and foods are always contaminated by contact of unclean hands, gloves or cloths or being left outside exposed in the environment in the workplace. Companies have attempted to segregate smokers and non smokers to deal with smoking problems. They have created smoking and non smoking workstations, office areas, lunch areas and other places. Though this law tends to satisfy employees, tobacco smoke may not be eliminated under this approach because it is somehow impossible to remove smoke tobaccos from buildings by ventilation or other means. Therefore, ETS will move over to nonsmoking areas. This ultimately affects the non-smokers’ employee thus affecting their health too. When creating a smoke-free workplace policy, it is importance to see beyond only what the law needs and to consider what alternative can be done to create optimal conditions for its successful implementation, such as offices in strategies to provide staff with cessation support and guidance. Restricting smoking opportunities can lead the addicted smokers to emotional and physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. It is crucial to give information and practical support for people who smoke and feel they may have difficulty adjusting. Smokers always see the introduction of a smoke-free workplace policy as an introduced opportunity to decrease cigarette smoking or an incentive to quit smoking. Information should be given to employees who are not considering quitting smoking about their benefits that may encourage them to contemplate quitting. The workplaces determine the level of support that fits their environment best. Each nation and most localities have different laws of smoking. The buying of tobacco in USA at the age of over 18 years is legal but it illegal at the age of less than 18 years. This might make the vendor suffer a fine for selling tobacco products to underage people. The buying age of tobacco in the USA is between 18 to 46 years as well as Columbia. The disaster is that it is legal for the under 18 year’s teenagers to smoke, but it is illegal to purchase the cigarettes. However, in other states it is illegal for the same age to smoke. These charges are thereby considered youthful, noncriminal offenses that are usually cleared up with services of the community. Smoking initiation is widely associated with a wide range of risk which includes parental and sibling smoking, the easiness of getting cigarettes, smoking by friends and peer groups members, exposure to cigarette marketing, social, economic status and watching of smoking films in television and other media. Children associated with parents who smoke are up to three times like to be addicted than children of nonsmoking parents. It is estimated that, in each year, at least 23000 young people in U.S start smoking by age of 15 years as a result of exposing themselves to smokers at home and also from the legal laws. Adolescent smoking can cause a serious risk to respiratory health both in the long term and short term. The children who start smoking early persist in the habit as adults, and always have a greater risk of developing lung cancer or heart diseases. The second point of argument is that smoking should be allowed in public. On the other hand, smoking in public places should be allowed. Smokers when experience pressure from either family or at work they think the only solution to solve their problems is through smoking. They believe that smoking of cigarettes provides relief of stress. To them, cigarettes act as a consolation. It relieves the pressure on their chest. Their feeling of relief is almost similar to that of a normal person when feels relieve after a long cry because of something that has hurt him/her very much. This man’s explanation provides the scientists the reason smoking brings relief. A shallow breath creates a massive feeling in the chest. Most smokers, it relieves mental depression by forcing a rhythmic expansion of the breath and thus resorting the normal pace of breathing. So, the chest’s weight is removed. It helps smokers to let off steam. A pack of cigarettes provides the smoker a pleasant feeling. An empty pack of cigarettes creates a wanting feeling and decidedly unpleasant impression. An empty pack can provide a real frustration and deprivation. Despite the millions spent when comparing the potentially negative effects of different cigarettes brand, respondents seem very little concerned about the matter. This makes even smoker who do not smoke heavily worry about the quantities they smoke. Researchers like scientists and medical studies on the physiological effects of smoking give a confusing picture. Some say that smoking is dangerous, but other researchers deny that smoking is dangerous. This confusing goes along with smokers themselves. When smokers feel to quit smoking, there comes an underlying sense of guilt. Thus think that constant smoking is not only dangerous but also is a bit immoral. Because mind has a powerful feeling on the body, many produce symptoms of physical illness. Guilt feelings cause harmful physical effects not at all caused by the cigarettes used but may be highly mild. At some moments in our daily lives are closely related with cigarettes. These moments leave memories of people an important imprint never to forgotten. People’s smoking ways are characterized by their whole character. The smokers’ mannerisms are innumerable. Some smokers have cigarettes drooping from their mouths while other let the cigarette jump up and down in their mouths as they talk to others. Smokers assume a pose because they realize that smoking fits their personality best. A smoker who is nervous has a faster smoking tempo than the relaxed smoker. A smoker who is angry blows the smoke aggressively as if he is trying to blow a person down. This smoke indirectly affects people around them even if they are not active smokers. It makes them feel almost similar to that of active smokers’ thus gaining similar moods. This might make passive smokers may be save money that they could have used to buy a pack of cigarettes. Thus, smoking in public should be allowed as it is demonstrated by the passive smokers. People smoke just because they are addicted to nicotine in tobacco, they enjoy smoking (loves the smoke’s taste), they want to relief their stress may be from family, friends or work, they want emotional support, they want to get themselves out of boring situation, they believe that everyone smokes, smoking provides them with an opportunity to spend with his or her age colleagues. (Seltzer et al 2009). In conclusion, smoking should be banned in the public. From comparing and contrasting the two points discussed above, it is clearly noted that public smoking has dangerous effects to humans and their environment. The disadvantages of smoking in public outweigh the disadvantages of smoking in public. Thus smoking should be restricted in public places to save the future lives. References Carol E., Adair-Bischoff, Reginald S. Sauve. (1998). Tobacco Smoke in the Environmental and Middle Ear Disease in Preschool-Age. Children Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Seltzer V, Efferen LS, Kohn N. (2009) Women and tobacco dependence. Obstet Gynecol Clin North America. Read More