Firstly, smoking in a public
place should be banned because people who do not smoke are affected just as
much as those who are smoking. This is due to second hand smoke, as the smoke
emitted by a cigarette lingers in the air. Studies have shown that a single
cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals, with at least 50 of them being known
carcinogens (Johnson, 2012). Carcinogen is a chemical, which is known to be
directly linked to cancer.
Secondly, smoking should be
banned in public places, but specifically in and around schools, parks and
other public areas where children are likely to be. This is because children
are more at risk of being influenced by the actions of other people (Wakefield,
2000). This means that children are encouraged to smoke through the influence
of smoking adults. If smoking is made illegal around these places, then it is
likely that an influence upon children witnessing smoking decreases also. In
doing so, this could possibly lead to a deterioration of children deciding to
smoke in the future.
Thirdly, another reason why
smoking should be banned in public places is because of its litter factor.
Research done at ‘ash.org’ confirmed that the cigarette butts found in parks,
beaches and footpath’s contribute to a large amount of the total waste found in
those areas (2003). So if a ban was imposed on people smoking in such places,
than there will be a significant decrease of litter (particularly cigarette
butts) in the environment, which also leads to an environmentally clean
country. Not only does the ban of smoking in these public places lead to a
cleaner environment, it also reduces the likelihood of children coming across
the potential hazard whilst playing in the park.
Another reason why smoking should
be banned in public places is because it is currently the leading cause of
deaths in the United States of America. A large amount of research by “Centres
of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)” has proven, and found that 1 in 5
deaths in the United States each year are in connection to cigarette smoking
(2012). The researchers at CDC also concluded that the deaths caused by
cigarette smoking outweigh all the deaths caused by HIV, drug use, alcohol, car
accidents, suicides and murders combined (2012).
On the other hand, there are
still reasons that support the argument to reject the ban on smoking in public
places. One reason being that it can have a negative effect on certain establishments.
For example, a major study showed that a ban on smoking in public places would
decrease the amount of consumers going to certain bars and restaurants
(Cornelsen & Normand, 2011). This is a major negative impact on the effected
businesses as the new legislation stated that every bar and restaurant must
have a separate smoke room with proper ventilation systems in order to cater
the smoker customer. This is discouraging for the minor establishments as they
may not be able to afford to construct a new smoke room. This also means that
they are forced to become a smoke free establishment; and due to this cause, a
decrease in the amount of customers would occur because of the lack of being
able to allow smoking customers.
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