Smoking in Public, a Great Nuisance

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Table of Contents Laws of Public Smoking................................................................................... 4 Health Risks...................................................................................................... 5 Litter Pollution.................................................................................................. 6 Disturbing and Affecting Others ...................................................................... 6

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Outline I. Introduction II. Prevent Public Smoking A. Laws B. Health Risks C. Litter D. Nuisance to others III. Conclusion

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Judy Chung Mr. Heil Computer Applications 11 August 2011 Smoking in Public, a Great Nuisance Today, it is widespread to see people smoking in public without the regard to people in the region of them. The debate between those in favor of and against banning smoking in public has persisted for years. While smoking in public is not illegal everywhere, it is evident to me that it puts the health of innocent bystanders at risk, that it slowly harms the environment, and that it is a great nuisance. Therefore, for the benefit of both the society and the citizens, smoking in public should be forbidden. Laws of Public Smoking In the United States today, about 60 of the most inhabited cities are enacted with laws that ban smoking in all restaurants and bars. The numbers of states adding on with this rule have increased tremendously in the past few years, and will continue to do so. It is known that The smoking ban in New York is estimated to have saved $56 million in health care costs for the year 2004. (Smoking Ban Statistics) Some of the many states that are part of a statewide
student 8/13/11 6:23 PM Comment: About how many states (in numbers) have enacted these laws compared to a few years ago?

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smoking ban are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and Illinois. These states prohibit lighting cigarettes in small workplaces, such as the indoor and outdoor areas of restaurants and bars. In addition, not only is America presenting great results due to the ban, but according to research about smoking statistics from Ygoy.com, In Turkey, 1 billion less cigarettes were smoked in July and August 2007 when compared to July and August 2006. The smoking ban was introduced in May 2007. (Smoking Ban Statistics) Health Risks Even though smoking is illegal in some designated public places, all areas that do not follow these rules can endanger the health of others. It is a wellknown fact that second-hand smoking is more harmful than direct smoking. Therefore, other people ranging from children to adults are innocent victims of second-hand smoke. Public places such as bus stops and sidewalks are for everyone in the community to enjoy and should be protected from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. They should offer a non-threatening space for the population in general. The smoke breathed out by smokers can contain twice the amount of nicotine, and five times the carbon monoxide than what the smokers draw in. By being exposed to a lot of second-hand smoke, it is highly possible to get cancer. According to no-smoke.org, there are about 53,800 deaths a year due to this serious issue of unexpected exposure. I believe that smokers should not hold
student 8/13/11 6:36 PM Comment: What types of cancer? Lung cancer, etc student 8/13/11 6:32 PM Deleted: n student 8/13/11 6:30 PM Deleted: for student 8/13/11 6:30 PM Deleted: the student 8/13/11 6:15 PM Deleted: is student 8/13/11 6:15 PM Deleted: others, student 8/13/11 6:16 PM Deleted: especially student 8/13/11 6:17 PM Deleted: , student 8/13/11 6:32 PM Deleted: , just to name a few, student 8/13/11 6:41 PM Deleted: inside student 8/13/11 6:41 PM Deleted: outside student 8/13/11 6:36 PM Deleted: showing

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the right to damage the health of others in public and that they should be more aware of their surroundings. Litter Pollution Secondly, smoking in public should be prohibited because the discarded cigarettes pollute the environment. It is true that smokers may question where else they could smoke. However, as people smoke, most of them throw away their cigarette butts on the streets. This not only makes streets filthy and harms nature, but it also bothers others in public. Therefore, I believe that the community should provide designated areas that are made especially for smokers. By doing so, smokers can be encouraged not to litter on the streets. Disturbing and Affecting Others Smoking in public is disrespectful to non-smokers and it created a great nuisance to those who come out to public places to enjoy the outdoors. Admittedly, some people smoke due to their excessive stress and addiction that is often difficult to break. While everyone should respect the difficult predicament of those individuals, the smokers should not expect the whole population to suffer because their dependence on cigarettes. Smokers should not stop anyone from enjoying their community in a smoke-free environment. Finally, smoking and emitting unpleasant smells that causes others to cough is very inconsiderate and rude to others and it should be stopped.
student 8/13/11 6:37 PM Deleted: dirty

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Smoking is not only harmful to non-smokers but it is also definitely unsafe to the ones who do it. By banning public smoking everywhere, the smokers will be prone to smoke less, as they will spend a lot of their day outside. Smoking is one of the main causes of death each year! Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemicals, and just imagine what they might be able to do to your body. These chemicals can cause heart problems and lung cancer, resulting in being one of the serious life risking diseases and sickness effects. The reasons for these problems relate greatly with nicotine and tar, deadly substances in the cigar. It is estimated that tobacco kills about 419,000 people each year referring to the American Cancer Society. Why is it that smokers want to smoke many times a day even in public, when they are risking their health and lives? Are they just waiting until one of the wide range of health risks come to get them one day? It is essential for the society to ban smoking in public to reduce the amount of cigarettes lighted each day by smokers. Even though smokers and their rights should be respected, smoking in public can threaten the well being of others, harm the environment, and absolutely irritate people. Therefore, it should be prohibited. Designated smoking areas that would not disturb non-smoking citizens could be created for smokers. With smoking in public banned, everyone would be able to appreciate and enjoy his or her community in greater peace.

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References Head, Tom. Should Cigarettes Be Illegal? about.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/drugpolicy/i/cigarettes_ban_2.htm>