Smoking Laws Should Be More Strict

New York was the first state to enforce the nonsmoking law in public places.

Eleven other states followed and made smoking in public against the law. Efforts to ban

 smoking developed in the 1990s. John F. Banzhaf, an attorney who teaches public

 interest law at George Washington Law School, says that smoking bans are widely seen

 as a way to safeguard the health on nonsmokers. The American public has changed its

attitude toward smoking; thirty-nine percent of the public now live in states with anti-

smoking laws. Anti-smoking laws are not made to force those who smoke to stop, but to

reduce some of the pollution on earth. It is not only against the law in some states to

smoke in public places, such as indoor restaurants, and bars; it is not allowed on

domestic U.S. flights either.

     In the 1990s researched revealed that secondhand smoke not only was annoying to

nonsmokers, but actually causative to their deaths of lung cancer. Secondhand smoke is

 toxic for nonsmokers. It can kill and affect the public’s health. According to Richard

Carmona, a physician, Surgeon General of the United States from 2002 to 2006,

 exposure to this particular kind of smoke is a very staid threat towards the peoples’

health. Secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer, affect your heart, respiratory system

and cause premature aging. Evidence has concluded that secondhand smoke is a known

human carcinogen and exposure to it causes opposing effects on the body.

     Hearts can be damaged if exposed for a short period of time, which can lead to

 cardiovascular disease. Nonsmokers have a 50 percent risk of developing this disease

than active smokers. More of people’s attitudes have changed since the bans. Social

moms supported the anti-smoking law, which lead to a widespread of supporters over

the past 30 years. Smoking should be banned in homes everywhere because children

 are being exposed. Nevertheless, it would be impossible to enter into someone’s home

and make it a law to tell them what to do in their own home.

     In January, the year of 2006 the California Air Resources Board declared outdoor

 tobacco smoke as a toxic air contaminant. The city of Calabasas, California passed an

 ordinance that bans smoking almost everywhere outdoors. Smoking bans send a huge

message, converting those who smoke to think about quitting and influences young

teens to steer away. Banzhaf said that within the next few years the majority of the U.S.

 “will be smoke-free indoors, “, with one or two states that may ban outdoor smoking

 completely. Popular influence and pressure on local cities and state government to

enforce smoking bans are a major factor towards achieving the goal of a smoke free

 society. The bans make it very inconvenient for the smoker; on the other hand it

 reminds them to be respectful and to think about the health of others.

     A growing number of communities, countries, and states are requiring a smoke free

environment for all public places, including all private worksites, restaurants, bars and

 even casinos. These are just a few of the states that ban smoking, Michigan, Idaho,

North and South Dakota, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Jersey,

Delaware, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Hawaii, Utah and many others. States with bans are

 known as the green states for their fight to make the environment smoke free and to

protect our health. Cigarette smoking has numerous effects on a smoker and

nonsmoker. Secondhand smoke not only affects your heart and lungs, it affects your

 whole body. The carbon monoxide that resides in the tobacco smoke has been

 associated with hardening of the arteries, which can cause a blood clot to the brain and

lead to a stroke.

     Smoking or being exposed to cigarette smoke increases your chances of cancer, heart

attack, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, yellowing of the teeth, premature aging,

 difficult sleeping, sore throat, higher fractures of bones, bad breath, and causes you to

 have smelly hair and skin. All states should ban smoking in public places because it is

very harmful to those who are involuntary expose to it.  The chemicals in cigarettes

 contaminate the air and our bodies. The laws of smoking are not strict enough to

 improve our society for me. Sure, there are many other things that put people in

danger that causes them to get sick. A person who is an alcoholic may sometimes drink

 in front of you, but there’s no danger of being exposed to the alcohol, they are harming

themselves. However, a person who smokes inhales and blows out harmful toxins that

can harm tons of people. Hopefully smoking bans will eventually mark every single state

to protect nonsmokers and heavily invade the minds of smokers to slow down or at

least quit.

Stop Smoking Now! If Not For You Then For Your Family

 Cited Sources:  Carmona, Richard. "Secondhand Smoke Is a Serious Problem." Tobacco and Smoking. Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004

Kaufman, Stephen. "Most Americans Believe Smoking Should Be Banned in Public Places." Tobacco and Smoking. Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004