No more cigarettes!

Smoking is extremely common amongst teenagers.They tend to use it as a relaxant for the short amount of time, but don't realize that it has an affect on the body in the long run.  Most smokers tend to start at a young age because of their surroundings. Some may might think that it's “cool”. Some think it relaxes the body, but is it worth it? There are also many other reasons why people smoke cigarettes. Social gatherings, traumatic experiences in life and the sheer desire of relaxation are just a few reasons. Cigarettes helps most situations because they lower a person’s inhibitions and acts as a relaxant. Smoking relaxing the body is just another excuse to starting. There are many ways to relax the body, but why start an addiction that can harm the body and possibly end one's life over time? 

 

The government has already made an attempt to reduce the number of smokers by raising taxes on all cigarettes, but making them more expensive still does not reduce the numbers of smokers. Cigarettes are not economical, but even in today's recession, people will still go out and buy packs of cigarettes for $14-$15.Completely banning cigarette smoking may seem a bit over-the-top, but smoking is affecting every person that is exposed to the smoke. Taxes have been raised, but the turnout of how many people are buying, still, doesn't seem to be affected. The only way to stop smokers from contracting lung cancer and spreading the smoke is to completely ban cigarette smoking. Marijuana, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine are all illegal, why not cigarettes? Cigarettes are considered a drug because they have the same affects as cocaine. When smokers quit, they tend to have a relapse and their body will drive them back to the addiction. Behind smoking, there is no real reason or benefit. It can only hurt ones body and potentially kill it.

Should Cigarettes Be Outlawed?

I read a post written by Tony Newman from The Huffington Post called "Will Cigarettes Be Illegal In The Future?" In the post, Tony Newman talks about the effects of cigarette smoking, and how cigarettes have affected smokers and non-smokers. He does support the ban on smoking in public places, but doesn't believe banning cigarettes overall will make anything better. He states, "We should celebrate our success curbing cigarette smoking and continue to encourage people to cut back or give up cigarettes, but let's not get carried away and think that criminalizing smoking or making cigarettes illegal is the answer." Newman also believes that outlawing cigarette smoking would not only cost more taxpayer dollars, but also more lives to be taken. Just like any other drugs, he thinks crime rates will go up because "Instead of buying your cigarettes in a legally sanctioned place, you would have to hit the streets to pick up your fix. The cigarette trade would provide big revenue to "drug dealers," just as illegal drugs do today. There would be shootouts in the streets and killings over the right to sell the illicit substance."

Although Newman makes a great and powerful statement about the ban on cigarettes, I still believe it should be outlawed. Yes, cigarettes is a well-established drug, but he needs to realize that cigarettes kill more Americans each year than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined according to the American Cancer Society. I agree that crime rates will go up because addicted smokers will go and seek for them illegally, but I don't believe the crime will cause as many deaths as cancer does. Cigarettes are not only affecting smokers themselves, but when in public, it affects all the people around them due to second-hand smoke. Smokers have no rights to release carcinogenic toxins into the air that is for everyone to breathe. I still believe cigarettes should be outlawed, it has been proven to cause cancer and also it affects not only the smoker, but everyone that is around that cigarette being smoked.