DanaKuehn

Mrs.House

HJLA6/7

ALegalKiller

Dontsmoke.Weheariteveryday,betweenschool,andhome,andthemedia.Fromchildhoodto

adulthood,Americansaretoldthatsmokingcigarettesisanastyhabit,andthatdecidingtosmokeis

basicallywritingyourowndeathsentence.Ifitissobad,whydosomanyit?Evenmoreimportantly,how

isitstilllegal?TobaccoshouldbemadeillegalintheUnitedStatesofAmerica,inordertokeepamericans

healthier,andsafer.

Tobaccoisresponsibleforover443,000deathseachyearintheUSA,whichtotalstoaboutonein

everyfivepeople.(CDC).Ofthe4,000ingredientsinacigarette,69areknowntocausecancer.Ingredients

ofacigaretteincludearsenicandammonia.(TriCountyCessation).ThetotaldeathsfromHIV,illegaldrug

use,caraccidents,suicides,andmurdersarestilltoppedbytheamountofdeathscausedfromsmoking

cigarettes.(CDC).Cigarettesmokingisthereasonthatover2millionAmericansareaffectedby

Emphysema,adiseasethatleadstoholesinthelungs,isaverycommonresultofsmoking.(NETT).If

tobaccoproductsweretobecomeillegal,thelifeexpectancyandqualityofAmericanswoulddefinitely

incline.

Tobaccocanbeconsumedinmanyways.Smokingisthemostpopular,butchewingtobaccoisalso

aseriousproblem.Smokelesstobaccoisjustaddictiveascigarettes,becauseitalsocontainsnicotine.

(NationalCancerInstitute).Chewingtobaccohasbeenknowntocausethesamediseasesassmoked

tobacco,alongwithsideeffectssuchasrecedinggumlinesandpatchesorbumpsforminginthedamaged

mouth.(NationalCancerInstitute).Justlikedthesmokedform,chewingtobaccocausesheartdiseases,

cancers,ulcers,andhypertension.Smokelesstobaccoincludes28cancercausingingredients.Both

smokedandsmokelesstobaccoareincrediblydangerousandprovidemanyhealthrisks.

Kuehn,2

Notonlydoestobaccoendangertheuser,butalsothepeoplearoundthem.SecondhandSmoke

isthesmokethatbystandersofasmokerinhalewhileheorsheissmoking.TheUSEnvironmental

ProtectionAgencyhasdeclaredthatsecondhandsmokeisknowntocausecancer.(ACS).Amongstnon

smokingadults,secondhandsmokeisresponsibleforanestimated46,000deaths,3,400ofthosebeing

lungcancer.(ACS).Secondhandsmokeisalsoresponsibleforupto15,000hospitalizationsofchildrenwith

lunginfections,suchasbronchitis.(ACS).TheSurgeonGeneralreleasedastatementproclaimingthat,

TheonlywaytofullyprotectnonsmokersfromSHS(secondhandsmoke)indoorsistopreventallsmoking

fromthatindoorspaceorbuilding.Separatingsmokersfromnonsmokers,cleaningtheair,andventilating

buildingscannotkeepnonsmokersfrombeingexposedtoSHS.Makingsmokingillegalcouldcompletely

removetheunnecessaryrepercussionsofsecondhandsmoke.

Theonedownfalltomakingtobaccoillegalisthattheeconomywouldsuffer.In2011,thesix

leadingtobaccocompaniesprofitedacombined35.1billiondollars,whichisequaltotheprofitsof

CocaCola,MicrosoftandMcDonalds.(WorldLungFoundation).Also,theUnitedStatestaxesontobacco,

perstate.Thetobaccoindustryprovidesabout136,000jobsintheUS,thatwouldbedevastatingtolose.

(CorpWatch).Whiletobaccoisincrediblydangerous,itisahugeindustrythatwouldcreateadevastating

blowtotheeconomyifitweretosuddenlydisappear.Eventhoughthetobaccoindustryseemstodrastically

helptheeconomyintheUnitedStates,italsohurtstheeconomy.

Duetotheamountofhealthrisksthattobaccoproductsyield,asmokershealthcostscanbe

incrediblyhigh.AccordingtotheAmericanCancerSociety,smokingcausesabout193billiondollarseach

yearinsmokingrelatedhealthcosts.Thecostpersmokeraveragesouttobe$4,260peryear.(Lung

CancerSociety).TheWhiteHousestatedthatsmokingcausesabout

Kuehn,3

100billiondollarsperyearinfinancialcoststotheeconomy.IftheUSweretomaketobacco

illegal,thesehealthcarecostscouldbelowered,andtheUScouldimprovetheireconomy.Ithinkthateven

thoughthetobaccoindustryishuge,makingtobaccoproductsillegalcouldbeevenmorehelpfultothe

economy,aspresentintheamountofmoneythatitcoststocareforasmoker.

Finally,smokingisterriblefortheairquality.AccordingtoanItalianstudy,smokingthreecigarettes

canpollutetheairmorethandieselcarexhaust.(WebMD).Makingtobaccoproductsillegalcouldmakethe

airthatAmericansbreathemuchcleanerandhealthier.TheamountofchildrenintheUSwithasthma,plus

theamountofsmokeparticlesintheairresultinsome300,000hospitalizationseachyear.(CleanAir

Council).TheresiduefromSmokenotonlylingersintheair,butalsoclingstofabrics,carpeting,furniture,

andevenhair,whichcanbeverydangerous.(MayoClinic).Whilesecondhandsmokeisthecauseofmany

nonsmoker,smokerelatedinjuries,thesmokeintheair,knownasthirdhandsmokeisalsoathreattothe

healthofAmericans.

Betweenthehealthrisks,thecostofasmoker,andtheamountofinnocentnonsmokerswhoare

affectedbytobaccousers,ithinkthatitisintheUnitedStatesbestinteresttomaketheuseoftobacco

productsillegal.Tobaccoisresponsiblefor443,000deathsperyear,and49,000ofthoseareadirectresult

ofsecondhandsmoke.(CDC).Whilesomemayarguethatthetobaccoindustryisneededtokeepthe

Americaneconomyafloat,thegeneralqualityoflifeforAmericansismoreimportant.IftheUSwouldmake

cigarettesillegal,citizensoftheUnitedstatescouldlivelonger,healthierlives.