Public Smoking Ban?

Question

Should public smoking be banned if secondhand smoke is proven to kill over 53,000 people every year? If you agree or disagree, please give a firm reason as to why or why not. I really wanna know exactly why

Answer 1

I disagree.

Until such time as there are no exhaust fumes, no factory output, no drinking in public, no noxious perfumes and no food additives, leave people to their vices.

You can only dictate so far before you lose what you thought you had.

Answer 2

It's not even about killling people....the government is taking our rights little by little. Alcohol kills more people than second hand smoke. The American people work hard, therefore, they need somewhere to go without so many rules....like a bar! If people don't like smoke, then stay the hell out of the bar! I don't like screaming children, but I don't walk into a Chuck E Cheese and tell the kids to shut the hell up....And on the public streets or sidewalks????? Car emissions are worse for you than smoke. This is just getting rediculous.....What else can and can't we do?? I'm sure our "daddies" will tell us soon enough by passing more bullshlt laws.

Answer 3

kappalokka - the number of smokers may have gone down, but the number of smokers reaching an age where their life-long habit is really affecting their health has probably risen. When today's young, less-smoking generation gets older, your argument might work a bit better.

If you sit next to someone who's drinking too much, are you going to get liver disease just by being there? No, not if you're sensible about your own drinking.

If you sit next to someone who smokes, could you get lung cancer by breathing in their smoke? Quite possibly. Is their smoke bad for your skin? Yes. For these very simple reasons, smoking in public should be banned. No-one has the right to make others sick and potentially cause their death.

Answer 4

Hate to tell you this, but secondhand smoke has only been scientifically proven to harm one group of people: minor children of smokers.

The study that you're citing has been harped upon by many people. It's an EPA study from 1994, and it's been discredited by many sources, including the US Supreme Court. Basically, they took every case of cardiovascular and pulmonary death that couldn't be otherwise accounted for and lumped them into this category.

If you want to improve public health, ban smoking where it does the most harm - in the home.

Answer 5

First,I Disagree!!!
Because tobacco is a major income for farmers.
Second! nonsmokers Simply be polite and ask the smoker to put it out but if you walk into, let say a bar because you know smoke will be present its your own stupidity!!!!

Whats next, Fat people Cant be Plumers!

Look at this way, If you farted in a public place and 5 people got sick and they try to ban your nasty butt from the city would you be mad or say, I pay taxes too!

WE LIVE IN THE USA THE LAND OF THE FREE,BE FREE!!!!!!

The phrase means you have choices, Don't make them for Me or anyone else!

Answer 6

Smoking in public should be banned.

Smokers have rights and should be able to do whatever they want to as long as it does not hurt others. If banned, there should be designated areas for smokers to smoke, away from non-smokers.

People that argue against banning smoking always argue that second hand smoke has not been definitively proven to cause cancer, but cancer is not the only threat. I had childhood asthma. I frequently get bronchitis and colds. Cigarette smoke, smog and other pollutants hurt me (and millions of other people) all the time. I don't have to look outside the window to know when the smog is bad; I feel a burning sensation between my lungs. Cigarettes do the same thing to me. The smoke makes it harder for me to breath. You wouldn't understand unless you have had asthma or a severe case of bronchitis and been around someone that smoked. (My father did.)

Cancer is a major reason to ban public smoking. Lesser reasons are asthma, bronchitis and all other breathing problems.

Answer 7

If it is absolutely proven then yes. Hard to prove as the cause of death since you would have to prove their death wasn't possibly effected by their genetics, work enviroment, household chemicals, poor diet and exercise habits. We would also have to define exactly what public is. How big a yard would have to be before a smoker could light up in their own yard. How about with the windows up in their own vehicle in a public parking lot. I'm pretty content with them not smoking in stores, resteraunts, and places of business or entertainment that I want to go to. I remember how bad it was when I was growing up, and never thought it would be this good.

Answer 8

I think public smoking should be banned. It lingers in the air and travels on the breeze. If people want to smoke then they should smoke in their own private space - not in places where the public is expected to go.

Smoking in nightclubs and over 21 places is fine by me - so long as it is posted as a smoking facility and the smoke is contained within the building.

When I was in college it was all I could do to get from one building to the next without having an asthma attack. I still say that smokers who have no regard for non-smokers and those who suffer from the effects of smokers should have to live one day in my shoes. It's not so fun when someone declares it is their right to smoke and that you're right to breathe doesn't compare. When your lungs are burning and your chest is constricted, you're gasping for breath and there is a searing, throbbing pain in your head from lack of oxygen.

I'm not asking those who wish to kill themselves to stop smoking. I realize it is an addiction and it takes a strong person to have the will power to quit. But, please, have consideration for those of us that are suffering from your habit unwillingly. We have just as much a right to be outdoors (and indoors) as you do - you could at least be courteous and curb your habit when in public.

Answer 9

Oh yeah!. You forgot to mention non-public smoking where parents smoke around there children in the home or vehicle without a second thought. And friends who smoke around non-smokers without consideration. And tobacco companies who profit from misfortune. And money wasted that could have fed a hungry person. And cigarette butts that have to be cleaned. And poisoned environment. And burned houses. And ashes. And unattractive women. And unwanted addictions. And irritability. And broken relationships. These are all things off the top of my head that smoking causes. Sorry that it has to be this way.

Answer 10

There is no reliable scientific evidence that second hand smoke kills anyone. Even if there were, your daily drive to work causes more harmful pollution than a smoker's entire monthly habit.

Smoking also does not contribute to the rising cost of health care either. The number of smokers has steadily declined over the last 30 years, yet health care costs have steadily gone up. There is no connection. Look at insurance company profits to find out why health care costs are so high.