Upon entering the body of a healthy man, tobacco attacks every aspect that influences his health. Slowly over the years, It coats his lungs in a thick black tar that, with time, completely engulfs his lungs, emitting a stench that can be compared to that of a mix of coal and the remains of a dead rat. The oxidant gases from the tobacco enter his bloodstream instantaneously, solidifying the flow of blood to the likes of dried glue. This not only increases the man’s chances of heart disease but cripples his physical appearance. As his abuse of tobacco continues, his skin shrivels and the last of his teeth that remain are eaten away by tar and bacteria.
Death comes upon him decades early, the man’s life is cut short, and his wife and children live a life of mourning, being susceptible to the same affects that their father had underwent due to the effects of second-hand smoke. For many years, tobacco usage has held its position as the leading cause of death on the planet. It has served as the source of an international epidemic, triggering fatal illnesses that include problems such as: lung cancer and heart disease.
Tobacco usage continues to affect nearly half a million homes in the United States alone, and the evidence that proves its destructiveness as it continues to thrive in the global market is transparent. Shifting one’s focus and attention away from economic and political factors, a logical mind would come to the inevitable realization that tobacco usage is catastrophic to the overall health of humanity, and should be ultimately eliminated from the market.
127 our experts are availableright now
Primarily, the health risks caused by tobacco usage on people should hold enough evidence to the consideration of eliminating tobacco from global markets. Smoking causes many diseases; cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung diseases, diabetes etc. People do not think about the long term consequences when smoking because it is addicting. With all these health risks playing the role of consequences for smokers, the bigger complication comes in the lives of the children of smokers. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking, and it is only growing.
All over the world, tobacco usage causes nearly six million deaths per year, and current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than eight million deaths annually by 2030. Some may say that banning tobacco usage will not solve the problem completely; however banning usage of tobacco will prevent others from acquiring an addiction. Those with an addiction may use the ban as a tool to help fight the dependency and regain control of their lives and health. So, it may not solve the problem entirely but put a control to it.
Banning tobacco use greatly reduces illness by immediately providing short-term benefits and lowering the risk of all diseases caused by smoking (Michael Eriksen, The Tobacco Atlas). Between 2000 and 2010, World cigarette production raised by 12%. As of today, Cigarette companies produce nearly six trillion cigarettes per year. (Michael Eriksen, The Tobacco Atlas). Forbidding tobacco usage will stop manufacturing cigarettes and create a healthier life-style for many Americans and the children of heavy smokers. Tobacco smoke contains over seven-thousand chemicals and compounds. Hundreds are toxic and at least sixty-nine is cancer-causing. (Michael Eriksen, The Tobacco Atlas)
Some may say, “second hand smoking does not actually have a great effect on individuals around tobacco usage”. Although the effect may not be as great as first-hand smoking, it’s still known as a human carcinogen (or a cancer-causing agent) by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Toxicology Program and the safety and Health has concluded that secondhand smoke is an occupational carcinogen or cancer-causing factor. There are over more than fifty cancer causing chemicals created by second hand smoking, such as butane, which is used in lighter fluid and carbon monoxide found in car exhaust. (Michael Eriksen, The Tobacco Atlas) Not only does banning tobacco usage help the ones who use it, but the ones suffer from being around it.
Bettering our lives is essential but improving the life our environment is also important. A ban on using tobacco will help the environment in different aspects. According to Dr. Peruga, a previous coordinator of an organization against tobacco called World Health Organization, “Tobacco also takes away a lot nutrient from the soil and requires massive amounts of fertilizer, a process that leads to degradation of the land and desertification, with negative consequences for biodiversity and wildlife”. Millions of cigarettes are being thrown on the floor every day, a maximum of those eventually end up in rivers or lakes.
When this occurs, it results in many deaths of fish and other sea creatures. Even the soil gets ruined from the excess butts, also killing plants. One of the leading causes of climate change is deforestation. Tobacco farming requires a large amount of wood causing deforestation for example about 11.4 million metric tons of wood are used annually for drying of the tobacco leaf. That is also to the equivalent of one tree for every 300 cigarettes. Prohibiting usage of tobacco will automatically preserve massive amounts of fertilizer and nutrients, preventing desertification and degrading of healthy land that could’ve been useful for food agriculture.
In 2012, over 900 million daily smokers consumed approximately 6.25 trillion cigarettes all over the world. This means that about 47,000 metric tons nicotine was released into the environment. Nicotine is one of the 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco that are known to cause climate change. Forbidding tobacco will reduce the chemicals released, automatically decreasing the chances of climate change.
Lastly, other than tobacco smoking ruining your body and world, it’s also emptying your pocket. Cigarettes have imprisoned the individuals that are addicted by it, reducing basic necessities such as nutrition, health care, and education. When this occurs, it results in many deaths of fish and other sea creatures. This affects the families of tobacco users, due to an individual’s addiction a child may not acquire the full basic necessities they deserve. Banning tobacco usage will automatically give more opportunity to families for increasing the necessities in an average house hold. The average smoker smoking one pack a day with an average of seven dollars for the pack will result in over twenty-three thousand dollars in the next ten years, money that could have been spent on more essential things.
“In 2015, $8.9 billion was spent on advertising and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco combined—more than $24 million every day, and about $1 million every hour”. The money spent on advertising and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, could have been funded to better our world in many different factors. Smoking also costs the US three-billion dollars every year on direct medical care for adults and lost productivity due to premature death and exposure to secondhand smoke. Banning the usage of tobacco will not only save you expenses on future costs but also the United States itself.
Briefly, the pros of banning tobacco usage out ways the cons immensely. The banning of tobacco usage will not only reprieve the lives of countless individuals but will automatically create a healthier life-style and lengthen the lives as well. This is achieved because diseases will not strike the bodies of smokers when tobacco is banned. As well as bettering our world by preventing from toxins being released into the air causing pollution and deforestation due to the making of cigarettes. Most lastly, saving your money on more essential things than purchasing diseases to inhale into your body. Stopping an addiction is hard, preventing it is easy. Almost seven out of ten adult smokers regret they ever picked up the habit. Over fifty percent of adult smokers tried quitting. (CDC)
