Ban smoking

 Hiba Ali

 

Ban Smoking

What is made of tar that is used to used to make car tires and is very harmful to all living organisms? Many people all over the world smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking is very harmful and is scientifically proven to cause many diseases and complications. Smoking should be banned because it risks lives, harms the environment and wastes money.

First of all , smoking risks many lives every day. There are thirteen point two million smokers in the US alone. Smoking causes many diseases such as mouth cancer, lung cancer and can cause complications of the heart. Apart from causing diseases

Smoking can yellow teeth, wrinkle skin and can make eyes red. Cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the US. Studies show half of those who smoke will dies from a smoking related illness. (http://www.cancer.org/research/infographicgallery/tobacco)

Aside from harming your own body smoking is also very harmful to the environment. Cigarettes contain over seven thousand chemicals. Each factory that produces cigarettes release harmful waste and gasses into the air. People who smoke can cause second hand smoke to people who are not even smokers. Why should others have to suffer. ( http://www.ucanquit2.org/facts/Environment.aspx)

Besides from hurting the environment cigarette smoking also wastes money. On average a smoker spends one thousand six hundred dollars weekly. In 2012, a packet of 20 cigarettes costs around fourteen dollars and fifty cents. That means if you smoke a pack a day you will spend more than five thousand dollars a year on cigarettes. Cigarette companies also spend over five million dollars on advertising alone. More money is saved by people giving up smoking than money collected through tobacco tax. (http://smokefree.org.nz/costs-smoking)

Not only does cigarettes waste money they also affected my life. When I was only a ten month old baby I was affected by second hand smoke. One day my mother took me to her friends house. There were more than four smokers all smoking at the same time. They did not think it would affect me. After that day I was acting different something was wrong with me. My family took me to the hospital and they found out the cigarette smoke affected my lungs and made me have trouble breathing. It caused me to constantly cough. I could not even drink my bottle because my breathing was so severe. I also almost developed asthma. I was put on an oxygen machine for over a month. Imagine a baby becoming sick from second hand smoke. I was very close to dieing. My condition was very severe. After being put on oxygen I eventually got better. After finding out about what happened to me it touched many lives. My own father who smoked a pack a day quit smoking which was very challenging for him to do. This was a lesson taught for many that smoking not only affects the smoker but also the people around them.

Some believe that smoking cigarettes can help the economy through taxes on cigarettes. This position is weak because the taxes that are collected are being used on healthcare costs. Smoking causes more illnesses and diseases which cause people to go to the hospital and use health care that was collected in taxes. The taxes don’t help the economy because they are used for the purpose of smoking anyway.

In conclusion cigarette smoking should be banned. One action can not only hurt the smoker but also the environment. Not to mention the amount of money spent on cigarettes which could have been given to the poor. There are more than two point two million people who smoke currently, lets help the future generations stay healthy and

make the environment a better place to live in. As Ann Landers says “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it."
The reasons you started smoking are probably not around anymore. You don't need to act cool, be swayed by peer pressure, or do what grown-ups or stars do. All those things were false and it's just nicotine that's holding you to ransom now“.~ Ann Landers