Essay on Should Smoking be banned in

Public Places ?
Manish Rajkoomar
Essay
Many surveys, studies and scientific research has proved that smoking is injurious to
health. Smoke is unhealthy and suffocating. It pollutes the environment. There are two
types of smokers active and passive. The person who smokes is active and other who
are near to him and inhale the smoke are passive smokers. !oth are e"ually affected #y
the ill effects of smoking. Smokers and nonsmokers meet at many places like offices,
#uses, hotels, etc. So, considering the #ad effects of smoking on individual$s health,
environment as well as individual rights, it should #e #anned in pu#lic places. % person
who wants to smoke can do so #y keeping himself in isolation.
The smoking of cigarette is glamori&ed through advertisements. More and more young
#oys and girls are attracted #y this. Even the $statutory warning$ on the cigarette packets
does not stop them. The young generation think that those who smoke are smart, modern
and intellectual.
'owever, smoking is not a good ha#it. Those who smoke suffer from several health
pro#lems. % chainsmoker is the worst sufferer. (igarette contains ),*** types of
chemicals out of which )+ are carcinogenic. The car#on mono,ide concentration in the
smoke is greater than -*,*** ppm. This is diluted to )**.** during inhalation. It
displaces o,ygen from hemoglo#in and the result is impairment of the central nervous
system, cardiac and pulmonary diseases /related to lungs0. These may eventually lead to
heart attacks. (igarette also contains ammonia and other hydrocar#ons which could cause
asthma, other respiratory infections and lung cancer. The dust particles in it may #e the
cause of irritation of the eyes, cancer, and emphysema. Its nicotine content is highly
addictive and reaches the #rain immediately. It constricts the #lood vessels, raises the
#lood pressure and gives the central nervous system a small jolt. It can lead to
reproductive disorders in the long run.
%ccording to a recent study conduced #y 1ale 2niversity, 2S%, smoking is more harmful
for teenagers. The people who start smoking at an early age reduces from certain
disa#ilities. Their speed and accuracy to grasp information reduces and it #ecomes
difficult to retain it in their mind. %ccording to 3eslie 4aco#sen, %ssociate 5rofessor at
1ale School of Medicine, 6%dolescent smokers were found to have impairments in
accuracy of working memory performance6. Smoking makes adolescents lethargic and
slow.
Scientists have also discovered that smoking can cut 77 years off a woman$s average life
e,pectancy. %nd in case of man, it takes + years off. They even added that women are
more suscepti#le to the commonest form of lung cancer, %dencarcinoma. If a pregnant
woman smokes, it is not only harmful for her own health #ut also for th e,pected #a#y.
So, when smoking is injurious to health, why do people make it a ha#it 8 In a democratic
society, people talk a#out their freedom of life and freedom of liking. 'e may justify his
smoking ha#it saying, 6It calms me, it helps me work, think and forget the worries6. !ut
he has no right to distur# others #y his smoking.
The smoke from a cigarette is inhaled directly. when the smoker inhales, the filtered
smoke goes into his mouth. 9f course, the secondhand smoke gets diluted #y the time it
reaches a nonsmoker. !ut that does not make it less dangerous. % research study at the
2niversity of :urich in Swit&erland reported hat when a nonsmoker remains in a smoky
room for half an hour, he can gather the same amount of car#on mono,ide in his #lood as
if he had smoker almost e"ually. Therefore, keeping all the conse"uences of smoking in
mind, the ;overnment$s policy to #an smoking in pu#lic places is justifia#le.
Moreover, full #anning on smoking may cause an economic scare for the government.
The sales of cigarettes are #ound to suffer with such a #an and the government will lose
revenue from e,cise duties. The to#acco industry will face a decline. Millions of people
working in these industries will #e without employment.
!ut if a government cares for the health of its citi&ens, it should rise a#ove the economic
consideration and find a way out for this. So, the government should #an smoking at least
in pu#lic places. In India, the government has already implemented this policy in some
parts of the country. It has also strictly instructed that children #elow 7< years of age
should not #e employed in to#acco industries. They cannot sell to#acco for their
livelihood.
'owever, #anning smoking in pu#lic places will give some justice to the nonsmokers.
Separate smoking sections should #e introduced in workplaces. The smokers can go to
that section for a puff and at least leave the nonsmokers free of pollution.