Should Tobacco Not Be Banned In The United States

Carson Bruenderman
Dr. Blasdel
English 101
December 11, 2013
A Ban on Tobacco Tobacco has been a part of our nation’s history since the very beginning. Using tobacco has never been considered a healthy habit, but people today still smoke regardless of the harms done. In New York there have been bans for smoking in public places. This could be a start of a new trend to ban smoking everywhere in the US. However tobacco should not be banned because of individual rights, it’s effect on the economy, and the increased crime it could cause.
The first point against ban on tobacco would be the individual right to smoke. The individual right to privacy should allow people to harm their own bodies with dangerous drugs. The government can pass laws
If tobacco became illegal there will be more crime and a black market for tobacco products. In 2012 more than 800,000 people were arrested for possession, trafficking, and selling marijuana. Today in the US there is over 55 million tobacco users; just imagine all the people who will be arrested if tobacco became illegal. For the people who still want to smoke they will not longer be able to pick them up at gas stations or convenient stores. They will now have to find an illegal seller and do deals in street alleys like you would for any other banned drug substance. If there is a ban on tobacco the revenue normally given to shop owners and businessmen will now be in the hands of drug dealers and criminals. With this money these lawbreakers could further improve their drug trade and illegal activity. The other way to look at it is from the law enforcement point of view. Taxpayers will have to pay and fund for drug enforcements agencies to arrest people who have tobacco products. Also with these criminals and cops there also could be the potential of shootouts and lives lost from gone wrong drug raids. A ban on tobacco would be like any other ban. There will always be people who will get it get ahold of it, wither it is legal or not. If tobacco was banned there will be more crime, more law enforcement, and more danger to tobacco users. Banning tobacco to most people in the US might sound
Most exposure to secondhand smoke occurs in homes and workplaces. Secondhand smoke exposure also continues to occur in public places such as restaurants, bars, and casinos and in private vehicles. Eliminating smoking in indoor spaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, opening windows, and ventilating buildings do not eliminate secondhand smoke exposure. Second hand smoke has all of the same dangers as the smoker does. In children aged 18 months or younger, secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for an estimated 150,000–300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia annually and approximately 7,500–15,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States.

Works Cited:
Dresler, Carolyn, Mark J. Cherry, and Robert M. Sade. "A clash of rights: should smoking tobacco products in public places be legally banned?." The Annals of thoracic surgery 11 December 2013
Newman, Tony. "Should We Ban Tobacco?" Alternet. N.p., 2 Aug. 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Second Hand Smoke Facts. N.p., 10 June 2013. Web. 13 Dec.