National mall designated smoking areas
The national mall in Washington DC is a public sphere, providing recreational facilities for all people inclusive of young children. For many years now, smokers have been using this place as a smoking area and thus predisposing all the people to adverse health conditions that are associated with passive smoking. Smoke from cigarettes contains a magnitude of destructive chemical substances, which are responsible for causing chronic illnesses, particularly cancer, which has claimed many lives in the recent past. Cigarette smoke also causes respiratory infections inclusive of asthma. Therefore, establishment of smoking areas within the scope of the national mall will help curb the damaging effects caused by cigarette smoking. Arguably, this may create conflicts among the smokers, as they may perceive this as a way of restricting their freedom, but with adequate sensitization, they will realize the essence of a smoking area. Nonetheless, smoking in public places encroaches upon the rights of nonsmokers as well as jeopardizing their lives due to negative effects of cigarette smoking.
Deductively, creation of smoking areas away from the general population in the national mall will provide mutual benefits for the national mall itself and people paying a visit the national mall. Precisely, there are refreshment stands at the national mall, operated by the National Park Services. Moreover, there are museum cafes within the national mall, which will benefit from the restriction of smoking to designated smoking areas, since the mentioned places will have a profoundly healthier and cleaner environment, thus people visiting the mall will prefer having their meals and snacks there than carrying foods from elsewhere hence increasing their earnings. Moreover, the buildings and the parks at the national mall will less likely succumb to damages caused by fire hazards emanating from burning cigarettes, since smoking will only be restricted to the smoking areas. Undeniably, smokers will to some percentage benefit from the creation of smoking areas. This is because the creation of a smoking areas will restrict their constant smoking at will habit hence they will smoke less frequently. Finally, the smokers may quit the smoking behavior; consequently, this will result in the gradual improvement of their health, since smoking causes damaging effects on the health status of an individual.
Evidently, children are more predisposed to the damaging effects emanating from cigarette smoke. Children have small lungs that are lighter, and thus they are more vulnerable to harmful effects of passive smoking. Subsequently, the effects of passive smoking amongst children include an increased risk to middle ear infections, meningococcal diseases, reduced lung growth, lower respiratory illness, sudden infant death syndrome, and onset of asthma or worsening of the asthmatic symptoms. There is also evidence that passive smoking can affect the behavior and learning development of young children. Therefore, establishment of smoking areas will save the children, who visit the national mall, from the specified effects of cigarette smoke. Additionally, adults, particularly pregnant women visiting the mall will benefit from the establishment of smoking areas, since they will be less exposed to cigarette smoke, which causes birth defects as well as low birth weight infants.
Deductively, smoking damages the health of all people inclusive of children who visit the national mall. Consequently, smoking should be restricted at the national mall. Designing smoking areas within the scope of the national mall will provide a basis for restriction of smoking at the national mall. This will profoundly reduce the damaging effects of passive smoking to non-smokers visiting the mall. Henceforth this will uphold a healthy surrounding for the mutual benefit of everyone visiting the mall.
