Abstract
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If tobacco remains legal, all other drugs should be made legal. The one difference between tobacco and other drugs is, it takes longer to manifest its harms; therefore it should be made illegal just like all the other drugs.
Less than half century ago for the rich, smoking was the fashionable thing to do and it was the proclamation of adulthood for the poor. It was a time when one could not look into a magazine or drive two miles without finding a very handsome man with a lit cigarette, or a very attractive, chic woman holding a cigarette stylish cigarette holder. Even though the Surgean General required that every pack of cigarette carries the warning that it is harmful, no one paid attention until lungs cancer became prevalent and doctors started to trace the cause back to smoking. Unfortunate, since then myriads of other diseases including amputation have identified tobacco as their culprit. Tobacco puts one in a psychedelic mood, not as intense as most drugs, nonetheless, mood-altering, as a result many people refuse to give up smoking.
Many people have counter- argue the harmfulness of other consumptions: but none of them is as damaging as cigarette however, that is not an excuse for killing oneself with tobacco. With other drugs no one ever gets sick by being close to the users. Being constantly close to a smoker one can undergo extreme repercussions. Second-hand smoke is responsible for many diseases and fatalities. Dennis Thompson has reported the findings of the Center for Disease Control, it states that the number of non-smokers who die each year as a result of second-hand smoke is about 100; that includes nearly 3,400 lung cancer deaths and almost 46,000 heart disease deaths. Smokers do not know what they are doing to children or they do not care. Second-hand smoke causes children to suffer from respiratory diseases, asthma attacks, and their ability to resist infections is greatly compromise. Some may also say that people should not be denied their constitutional rights but one cannot claim his or her constitutional rights when it affects others. It can also be said that people who do not smoke should remove themselves from among smokers but that is not always possible: and they have the right to enjoy their space without the contaminants of second-hand smoke.
Many smokers have joking said “I have to die from something,” but they really do not mean that; not if they really educate themselves about the dangers of tobacco. Emphysema is more often than not a result of smoking and no one wants to spend his or her golden years fighting to take a breath; most of them do not even reach their golden years; or walking around with a hole in his or her throat where his or her voice box should have been. According to Valerie Dansereau, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that “more deaths are caused annually by tobacco use than by illegal drug and alcohol use, auto accidents, suicides, murders and HIV combined.” This is a morbid report and smokers should take heed. If they cannot think of themselves, think of their loved one who will be left behind. They may have life insurance but most children would trade money to have their mommies and daddies back. Smokers play Russian roulette with their lives, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention continues to report hat: “smokers are up to four times more likely than non-smokers to develop coronary heart disease. Smoking also causes significantly increased risk of stroke, cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease.” People can no longer turn a blind eye to the use of tobacco.
Like trying to keep drugs off the streets, the fight to cease smoking is a long ongoing battle; and although the fight is gaining stride it has a long way ahead. One day when it becomes illegal, tobacco will have to be policed; even then it will become an aggressive war, keeping it off the streets.
Bibliography
Dansereau, Valerie. “Facts about Smoking and Second-hand Smoke.” Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5526111_smoking-secondhand- smoke.html#ixzz2zBDH2C8Oeen.
Thompson, Dennis. “How Second-hand Smoke Affects Non-smokers.” Retrieved from: http://www.everydayhealth.com/stop-smoking/how-secondhand-smoke-affects- others.aspx Jeffery Thompson
