Jazmin C. Urioste
English 1013-03
Mindy Hudson
17 November 2013
Banning Smoking in Public Facilities Second-hand smoke is a leading cause of lung cancer. Most smokers may not realize the harmful effects that their smoking has on the people around them. They may not understand that the smoke coming from their lit cigarette is more harmful to others than the smoke that they exhale from their lungs. If smoking were banned from public places, not only would it reduce these harmful chemicals that are affecting the innocent people, including children, that happened to be in these public places, but it could also help to reduce the amount of people who smoke in general. Many people do not understand the definition of what second hand smoking really is. According to the American Cancer Society, second hand smoke is “two forms of smoke that come from a lit cigarette.” The first form of smoke is the “sidestream smoke,” otherwise known as smoke that is emitted from the lit end of the cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Sidestream smoke has higher concentrations of chemicals that cause cancer. The second form of smoke is the smoke emitted from the smoker themselves. This is called “mainstream smoke.” Although sidestream smoke is more harmful than mainstream smoke, both cause harmful effects on those around the person smoking. Several years ago, when smoking became a fad and everyone was doing it, no one understood the unhealthy nature of the habit. The farmers and larger tobacco companies were advertising everywhere and consumers were buying it up, causing the large tobacco companies to make big money. Now that research has been done to prove that smoking kills, the government has put a ban on advertising in certain areas and demanded cigarettes be labeled with the Surgeon General Warning stating that smoking is bad for your health. Unfortunately, the large tobacco companies are still getting bigger because people are still smoking. The harmful chemicals in cigarettes not only kill, but are addictive as well. People who smoke unfortunately do not, or choose not to think about the harm that it is doing to them and to others around them. Avoiding secondhand smoke is not always an option when allowed in the public. Adults find it difficult or almost impossible to avoid because of their workplace. Casino workers, bartenders, and waiters can be forced to breathe secondhand smoke, unless they change their occupations. Some colleges permit smoking on campus and in individual dorm rooms, but those colleges that allow smoking on campus (i.e. cafeteria or lounge areas) make the choice for their students to breathe in secondhand smoke. Children, however, are the worst case. These are the most helpless of all people and the 2006 Surgeon General’s report states that about 22 percent of children under the age of 18 are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes. Some are even exposed at their day care centers (Crawford 187).
Secondhand smoke causes illnesses and sometimes leads to death. Some of the diseases caused by secondhand smoke are asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory tract infections. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have higher risks of these diseases than an adult because while the immune system of an adult if fully formed, that of a child is still changing and is weakened by secondhand smoke. Estimated heart disease deaths caused by secondhand smoking is around 46,000 a year and the deaths caused by lung cancer from secondhand smoking were around 3,000 a year in a report completed in 2009 by the recent U.S. government (Crawford, 189). If smoking is banned in public facilities, than these diseases with become fewer and fewer. Not only because the public is no longer being exposed to secondhand smoke, but also because the amount of smokers has a chance of decreasing.

CONCLUSION:::

Banning smoking in public places would take the choice out of the hands of the smokers and into the hands of the public. Some smokers choose not to smoke in public places because of the harmful effects it has on others.