should cigarettes be made illegal?

Question

i am doing a persuasive report on this and need to find out what people think about this topic.....

Answer 1

Absolutely as murder is illegal, so anything that is being spewed out by another person but could kill another person should be declared illegal. The second hand smoke is worse for the non-smokers and it kills slowly.

I am very sensitive to second hand smoke, and couldn't stand 50 feet from a person smoking, and couldn't stand 1,000 feet from a person smoking if I am on the downwind side.

I am not against smoking, it is your right, you can smoke all you want, but don't exhale the noxious fumes on your fellow human beings. If you can find a way to smoke without spewing out the second hand smoke, if you can find a way to absorb it or at least not to pollute the air with your second hand smoke, I will be the first to campaign for your smoking rights.

Smokers can go ahead and shorten their lives with their cigarette smoking, but please just don't you make the non-smoker's lives shorter than yours by spewing smoke at them. Whatever you can smoke in, you shouldn't spew it out.

But if you continue to spew out the toxic chemicals on me, you are in the same category as the silent killer, along with other polluting companies.

Answer 2

No they shouldn't. Why should the government be given the right to regulate my health? Should they be given supreme authority to all things related to my body? Did you know hearth disease in the United States is the number one killer? Does that mean we should outlaw fast food? People do things every day that are bad for them, but it's how they choose to live their lives. That doesn't mean they shouldn't pay for the consequences of those actions later in life though. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. If we constantly create more and more laws giving the government the right to control our lives, that means we surrender more rights. The only reason people speak of outlawing cigarettes is because they don't smoke and it's a nuisance and inconvenience to them, but all under the guise of "public safety". But once it's something that's they enjoy that can be deemed unhealthy, they get up in arms. If that's the case, we should outlaw driving because cars pollute exponentially more than any cigarette ever will. That would make you upset wouldn't it? Do you see what I'm getting at. You'll never be completely happy with the status quo because some things that are illegal bother you. I feel for you. However that doesn't mean we should infringe upon the rights of others just to make a few people who dislike something they do happy. Once we give the government the ability to prohibit one thing, they can do it for just about anything else and eventually, it will be something you hold dear. EDIT: Sadtoday, I understand your position as a health care professional, but I have to disagree with you. Why make it illegal because it's not a way you'd want to live YOUR life? Most people who start smoking are well aware of the consequences when they do. It's no secret smoking is very unhealthy. And just a side note, taxes paid by smokers actually subsidize more health care for the public than they consume in health care for smoking-related ailments.

Answer 3

They shouldn't, because the amount of people already smoking number in the millions, and banning cigarettes (illegal) would be like taking away people's freedom.
While it would be a good thing, there would be too much of an uproar from the population over the governments controlling the way they live their lives.

Answer 4

I'd say no because the more you take away from people the more chaos and rebellion there will be. Did we not learn from the Prohibition (1920s)? I think its rediculous how much things are becoming "illegal" and you cant do this and you cant do that but yet its suppose to be a free country. They say because of our freedom there is chaos but I disagree. Not everyone can handle and responsibly take freedom so they're the ones that ruin it for everyone. I think thats part of the reason why we have some no so good teenagers. They're told to not do this and that and you cant go in the park after dark and blah blah blah but they just do it anyway because what else are they suppose to do? The addiction that kids and people have for cigarettes should be blamed on the company who doesnt care about the people they're killing and it should be blamed on the advertisments and pursuade you to buy them. Cigarette advertisments are just like any other advertisment, its there to make you buy the product and its there to tell you its Ok. If there was no company or advertising, there would be no cigarette addiction. So instead of pounding on everyone and attacking them, maybe we should go to the main source. I know people that smoked and didnt want to... its not easy to kick the habit and once you're off its not always easy to stay away from them. Its not the PERSON that wants the cigarette its the chemical inside them wanting the NICOTINE, and they give in. So, thats what I gotta say.

Answer 5

No. Three reasons:
1. Taking cigarettes off the market when so many people are addicted will cause problems, to say the least. Withdrawal, etc. will be huge problems.
2. Non-smoking areas are popping up all over the place. It's not much of a problem for non-smokers anymore.
3. The government taxes the hell out of cigarettes. They make a ton of money from cigarettes. Sucks to be addicted, I guess.

Answer 6

no need to make it illegal
just keep raising those taxes on cigarettes until it hits 100%

Answer 7

not a chance. It would be taken over by organized crime.
Legal cigarettes are taxed, taxes go to the general good.

Answer 8

I do not smoke or take illegal drugs. That is my choice, and I made it for myself. Nobody, especially not the government, has the right to make that decision for me. I hate cigarettes with a passion, but that's me. Others love 'em. Eventually, that habit will kill them. They know that. They choose to smoke anyway. It is their RIGHT to decide what to do with THEIR bodies.

Answer 9

No.

Our bodies are our own, and we should be able to put into them whatever we like. Even if it is a horrible poison.

Additionally, we should be responsible for p[aying our own medical bills. Socialized medicine has no business existing. If charitable organizations want to give away medical care, that is their own affair. But liberty means being free to do as you wish as long as you aren't violating the rights of others. It also means that you must take care of yourself, because if others around you have liberty, that means they cannot be held responsible for taking care of you, or your medical bills.

Taxes pay for socialized medicine in the U.S. Taxation is theft.

If you are on the side that says that cigarettes should be illegal, reconsider your logic please. Do you really want to give the government more power to say what you can ingest legally? If they outlaw tobacco products, you know that something will be next. Alcohol? What after that...MacDonalds?

We own our own bodies and should be able to abuse them to the extent we like. The only time the federal government has any business meddling in the affairs of any U.S. citizen is when they violate the constitutional rights of another person.

Drinking at home, smoking at home or on the street, shooting up in your own home, smoking crack in your own home...all these are bad things no matter where you do them. But you have a right to do them, and that right should be respected.

Prison overcrowding, big government, corruption in government, higher taxes, less liberty, and only the illusion of greater security...these and other bad things result and have resulted from ignoring the constitutional rights of others.

I am grown up enough to allow my neighbor to be free, even if they live in a way that I despise. Are you?

Be well.

EDITED TO ADD:
Btw, I don't smoke, drink, take illegal or prescription drugs. I even hate taking aspirins, and won't unless I am in alot of pain.

Answer 10

No....I agree with longviewcyclistlady, Government cannot dictate what we choose to ingest or not...that is the choice of the individual, so long as ingesting does not cause future harm to others...

I'm all for people smoking if they choose to...just don't expect me to pay for your medical care when they remove your black lung...

Answer 11

Huh. On the one hand, if it were to be made illegal, the Tobacco Companies would go broke, and that would put a lot of hard working laborers out of jobs. Tobacco is grown in the South, where the economy is always a little depressed and Tobacco provides a lot of employment. Perhaps there could be some sort of relief, job re-training, or something?

Also, making substances illegal creates black markets and increases crime. People might start gathering in illegal "smoke-easys" and "smoke houses". You might end up with people serving jail terms for smoking tobacco. Do we want to burden law enforcement with the extra responsibility of tracking tobacco related crime?

Certainly if it were illegal, many people would quit and would not pursue obtaining cigarrettes illegally. But many would.

Would the increase in crime be as costly as the costs society pays now in health care?

The care and feeding of one prison inmate is as much per year as sending a kid to college. Police and detectives also cost money.

Many States and Cities are passing laws to prevent smoking indoors; is this enough?

I think I would say continue to regulate and tax but stop short of making yet another substance illegal.

Maybe there is some place where smoking is not allowed at all, and you could research to find out how they enforce it and how it is working.

Good luck on your essay, sounds like it will be a fun one to write.