Smoking Ban

Smoking Ban

Introduction
Nearly 20% of adults in the United States smoke, according to a 2008 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 77% of them smoke every day. Smoking had steadily declined among adults in recent years; though the trend has stalled between 2004 and 2006, according to the latest CDC report there was a 1% drop in smoking prevalence among U.S. adults in 2007. (Simon, 2009)
The addictive effects of tobacco have been well documented. Tobacco is considered to be a mood and behavior altering substance that is psychoactive and abusable. Tobacco is believed to be as potentially addictive as alcohol, cocaine, and morphine. Tobacco and its various components increase the risk of cancer (especially in the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, colon, pancreas, and cervix), heart attacks, strokes, and chronic lung disease. (Simon, 2009)
Like most people, you already know that smoking is bad for your health. But do you really understand just how dangerous smoking really is? Tobacco contains nicotine, a highly addictive drug that makes it difficult for smokers to kick the habit. Tobacco products also contain many poisonous and harmful substances that cause disease and premature death. (Mills, 2005)
Most people don 't know the odds of getting sick as a result of smoking are really that bad, but when you do the numbers, that is how they come out. For many people, truly understanding the very real dangers associated with smoking becomes the motivating factor that helps them to quit. Although it can be a very difficult habit to break, smoking is ultimately a choice; it is your responsibility to choose whether or not you will continue to smoke. (Mills, 2005)

A Brief History of Smoking in America

The history of tobacco dates at least back to 1492, when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World. The American Indians he and his men encountered were fond of chewing a particular type of leaf and inhaling its smoke through a Y-shaped pipe they called a “toboca” or “tobaga.” Columbus initially scolded his men for joining the natives in their custom, but finally relented. He is purported to have said that “it was not within their power to refrain from indulging from the habit.”
The plant was soon hailed by Europeans as one of the treasures of the New World, along with coffee, chocolate, and cane of sugar. In the seventeenth century, the crop was of vital economic importance to the first English settlers in North America. Professor of geography John Fraser Hart and Ennis L. Chang note that “the colonist at Jamestown, Virginia, were exporting tobacco to England six years before the Pilgrims stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock, and for nearly four centuries the golden leaf has been one of the nation’s leading cash crops.”
Prior to the twentieth century, most tobacco was consumed in pipes and cigars or liable as snuff (finely pulverized tobacco inhaled into the nostrils). Cigarettes did not become popular, or even widely available, until the 1880’s, when innovators such as James B. Duke developed mechanized methods of producing them. Prior to this time cigarettes had to be hand-rolled; mass production greatly reduced their price. The combination of low and milder smoke, compared with that of pipes or cigars, greatly increased the popularity of cigarette smoking. (Torr, 2001)

The Ban
Before 1964, people smoked in offices, theaters, even in airplanes. Nearly one-half of all adult Americans enjoyed lighting up. Can you imagine an interviewer smoking a cigarette as he speaks with the world’s newsmakers on television? One of TV’s most respected newsmen did exactly that on a major interview show during the 1950’s. Every channel ran advertisements for dozens of brands of cigarettes. Cigarettes slogans and jingles were major part of popular culture.
Then, in 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry, the country’s leading health authority, issued a report linking cigarettes smoking with cancer. It resulted in a law requiring a warning on every pack of cigarettes: “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.” (McCay, 2005)

Smoking Ban Pros

Smoking bans, also known as smoke-free laws, are public policies adopted by the government that disallow or prohibit the smoking of tobacco at public places. Public places, in general, include places such as roads, parks, squares, beaches, theaters, restaurants, public transport, and so on. Moreover, the policy of smoking ban also covers workplaces. Numerous countries have adopted this policy till date, and several people have voiced their varied opinions about the same.
The underlying fact, however, is that it is very difficult to land up on a firm conclusion on whether or not such bans should be imposed, and if yes, then to what extent. Nevertheless, the imposition of smoking bans has been in practice since the late 16th century, and the world has seen several pros and cons of these policies. The ban on smoking, especially in the public places has several pros. Some of the more prominent ones are as under:
Health Benefits

A recent study showed that smoking bans imposed in public places and workplaces, resulted into lesser instances of deaths and hospitalizations due to respiratory problems, heart attacks, and cancer.

• The policy is extremely beneficial to the nonsmokers, who happen to inhale the secondhand smoke and thus, breathe in the same substances as the smokers. This exposes even the nonsmokers to the smoking-related health hazards in the future.

• Smoking retards the growth of a fetus, and leads to increased chances of premature births. The same effect is also seen in case of the nonsmokers, exposed to large amounts of secondhand smoke. Thus, smoking bans not only lower the percentage of premature deliveries, but also help in the promotion of values regarding health from the early stages of life.

Helps to Quit Smoking
• When a government imposes smoking ban as a law, it automatically reduces the number of cigarettes that an individual smokes per day.
• According to a research, a person 's body craves for nicotine when he/she inhales a specific amount of tobacco on a regular basis. Under a smoking ban, this very rate of tobacco inhalation reduces, and with it, reduces the craving of a person to smoke.
• In some cases, the reduction in the need of smoking is so high that an individual considers to quit smoking, and he/she can do it easily because now, he/she can live comfortably without it.
• Also, a smoking ban makes it more and more difficult for the smokers to find places, where they can go and smoke. This inconvenience that is caused to them may also many times make them give up their habit.

Lesser Influence on Others
• Smoking is, many a time, seen as a status symbol, and some people, especially teenage kids, deem the habit to be extremely stylish.
• The reduction in the amount of smoking, and of the number of smokers that takes place as an effect of the smoking ban, would result in much lesser chances of the non-smokers getting influenced by the smokers, and entering into the habit.
• Thus, a smoking ban may lead to lesser number of new smokers because smoking under a ban would seem like an unwanted and an illegal thing to do.

Saves Money
• A smoking ban leads to a much lesser amount spent of smoking. This saves a lot of money both, of the individual as well as of the state.
• On the individual level, money is saved as lesser (or no) cigarettes are purchased. This money may, in turn, be utilized for some other productive purposes.
• According to the Center for Disease Control the government incurs an average of $16 after every single pack of cigarettes smoked, with regards to lower productivity and increased number of health issues. Smoking bans may help decease, if not completely eliminate, these costs.

Decreases Pollution and Fire Hazards:
• The smoke that is exhaled by an individual while smoking, contains harmful substances that pollute the air around. The people who inhale these substances through the air, become prone to respiratory troubles as well as other forms of illnesses.
• Moreover, sometimes these substances also affect things such as furniture, clothing, and so on. Their deterioration speeds up in many of such cases.
• Risks due to fire are also lessened to a large extent due to smoking bans. Fire is a risk when more and more people smoke because we are surrounded by innumerable flammable materials such as oil, wood, plastic, rubber, paper, etc. If a smoker forgets to extinguish his cigarette after smoking, chances of these materials, and many more, catching fire that may lead to fatalities, are extremely high. The ban may aid in curbing such chances. (Locsin, 2013).

Smoking Ban Cons:
In spite of the numerous pros that the smoking ban has, a large number of people choose to opt against the policy and argue in favor of smoking. The following are some of the cons of the ban:

Economic Impact:
• It is the hospitality industry that the smoking ban seems to affect the most. People, who smoke, are often major patrons of cafés, bars, and restaurants, and the number of these patrons tends to diminish when a smoking ban is imposed.
• The reduction in the number of patrons would earn them lesser profits, thus leading to financial difficulties. Moreover, if these difficulties go on increasing by the day, some of the businesses might also consider permanent closure.
• In such cases, the risk of more and more employees losing their jobs is elevated. Also, the job market would, in turn, generate much lesser jobs, leading to a rise in unemployment.
• The government earns a lot of revenue through the sale of tobacco and cigarettes. The ban results in a major drop in this revenue.

Personal Right
• It has been argued that imposing a smoking ban is against the 'freedom of choice '. Some people opine that it is okay to do anything one wants as long as he/she is not hurting the others in the process.
• Some have proposed that nonsmokers, in order to avoid inhaling the smoke, may prevent themselves from going to places that allow smoking. However, this is not always possible.
• Moreover, banning only smoking as a potential health hazard seems a little absurd as there are some other substances as well (drugs, alcohol, etc.), which pose similar, or rather much greater health hazards.

Difficult to Implement
• Though a smoking ban may seem like a brilliant idea to control the potential dangers, it is not always easy to implement at all places.
• Many times, it is extremely difficult for businesses to disallow their patrons from smoking in their premises, especially if the patrons insist on the same.
• Furthermore, isolated areas such as washrooms, where people might secretly smoke, cannot be monitored all the time. Also, if it is a small or a new business, it may not afford to lose its clients because of the ban. (Khilawala, 2013)

Conclusion
I’ve never smoked a cigarette, not even a puff. Perhaps because of this, I’ve spent my life monitoring both my smoking and non-smoking friends’, keeping a tally of which side seems to have better lives. I wonder, if smoking weren’t harmful to health, would I pick up a cigarette? After all, it’s all about survival. In such cases, the ban loses its purpose. While we can all have and foster our own opinions on this controversial topic, one has to keep the bigger picture in mind. While in the short run, the ban seems to have certain cons, in the long run; it will only benefit the society and humanity on the whole. So, if you are a smoker and against the ban, as a matter of principle, you should re-think. The smoking ban is here and here to stay. The best that people can do is to get used to it.

References:

Locsin, A. (2013). Pros & Cons of Banning Smoking. E-How. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5398223_pros-cons-banning-smoking.html
McCay, W. (2005). The Truth About Smoking. New York: Book Builders LLC.

Mills, H (2005, June 28) Introduction to Smoking. Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=5514l

Khilawala, R. (2013, February 27). Smoking Ban Pros and Cons. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/smoking-ban-pros-and-cons.html

Simon, H (2009, February 3) University of Maryland Medical Center. Retrieved from: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/who_smokes_000041_1.htm#ixzz2Ob2o1rNp
Torr, J. (2001) Smoking. Opposing Viewpoints digest. Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego California.

References: Locsin, A. (2013). Pros & Cons of Banning Smoking. E-How. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5398223_pros-cons-banning-smoking.html McCay, W. (2005). The Truth About Smoking. New York: Book Builders LLC. Mills, H (2005, June 28) Introduction to Smoking. Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=5514l Khilawala, R. (2013, February 27). Smoking Ban Pros and Cons. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/smoking-ban-pros-and-cons.html Simon, H (2009, February 3) University of Maryland Medical Center. Retrieved from: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/who_smokes_000041_1.htm#ixzz2Ob2o1rNp Torr, J. (2001) Smoking. Opposing Viewpoints digest. Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego California.