Banning Smoking in Public Places

Should smoking be banned in public places?
Ban smoking in public places!
The question and the statement that is most on peoples lips in many countries around the world. In the UK in 2007 the smoking ban in public places came into effect, prohibiting all smoking in public places and enclosed spaces.

The US has seen many states introduce a smoking ban in public places over the last several years (For a complete list see this Wikipedia entry: List of smoking bans in the United States.) California has been a driving force behind the smoking ban movement, with many smoke-free registries being set up by residents in apartments and residential buildings.

Why Ban Smoking in Public Places

Most non-smokers are quick to complain about the more 'visible' side effects, the stale cigarette smell on clothes, the smoke in the eyes and a personal hate of many, having to walk on a public street behind someone who starts smoking, and having to breathe in clouds of their smoke.

Governments are taking a more health based point of view, concentrating on the side effects of smoking, and the health risks involved in passive smoking.
Lung Cancer Several studies have proved an increased risk of Lung Cancer, around 25% for both smokers and passive smokers.
Coronary heart Disease Smoking greatly increases the risk of heart disease on its own, but combined with its effect of increasing blood pressure, increases the risk of blood clots, and decreases tolerance to exercise, the risk is massively increased.

The view is being taken that the health of passive smokers needs to be protected, introducing smoking bans is the only effective way to tackle this issue. The smoking bans should also encourage many existing smokers to quit smoking.

What about Passive or Secondhand smoke

The link between disease and passive or secondhand smoke has been well documented, and the connection to cardiovascular-related disability and death is also apparent. In the US around 37 to 40 thousand people die from blood vessel and heart disease caused by other people’s smoke each year. Of these, around 35,000 non smokers die from coronary heart disease, which includes heart attack.

Why smoking should be banned in all public places

There are many reasons why smoking should be banned in all public places. The most obvious is that it is unhealthy for the smoker, as well as everyone else near the smoker, especially in closed areas. Undisputed scientific studies emphasize that second-hand smoke is almost as medically hazardous to exposed non-smokers as it is to the smoker. Smoking is more than a habit; it is an addiction, and every step should be taken to discourage people, especially the young, from becoming addicted.

Children, chronically-ill people and the elderly are the most vulnerable to second-hand. It just takes a little longer for non-smokers who are exposed to develop the same ailments, including chronic throat and mouth irritation, emphysema and other lung problems as the addicted smoker.

Another reason smoking should be banned in all public spaces is that it is unpleasant to non-smokers. Where it is permitted in restaurants, bars, casinos, theaters, transportation and other places, it is simply that the inconsiderate smoker is imposing his/her addiction to the discomfort of others. If those persons must indulge in smoking, they should do it in designated indoor and outdoor areas where it will not annoy and/or sicken others.

As a personal note, during most of my working years, smoking was permitted just about everywhere. Except for showing off at age 13 by smoking an entire pack of cigarettes and getting very sick, I've never smoked since. However, until the era of banning some areas to smokers, I had to endure the annoying smell and discomfort in restaurants, theaters, airport lounges and many other places. When I attended business meetings in small rooms, i always had to hang my clothing out to air after I went home. It wasn't that I was allergic, as many unfortunate people are. I just found the smell of burning cigarettes, the breath and clothing of addicts annoying, their attitudes inconsiderate.

We who survived the many years before smoking in public places started to be banned are thankful that medical studies exposed the obvious. They proved that cigarettes are deadly to both the smoker and everyone else who must involuntarily be exposed to them. Of course, the medical studies revealed nothing new. As far back as the early 20th Century, cigarettes were called coffin nails. It's just that people finally woke up to the facts of the deadly consequences of smoking, and realized the culture created to enhance the profits of the tobacco companies was simply wrong.