comment A2

The rate at which people are smoking, it looks like smoking is being celebrated by people especially by teenagers who are celebrating their turn of 18^th birthday with puffs of smoking. This has become a dangerous sign to the society as whole as the air has become more polluted causing harmful effects even to the non-smokers.

The government should think of negotiating a law such that there are no damaging effects to the tobacco industry and no more pain to the public health environmentalists. The negotiation goal should be a win-win situation so that the tobacco industry keeps on contributing substantially to the nation’s economy and yet protect the environment in creating healthier surroundings at public places. Smoking zones must be established and impose smoking restrictions in places such as restaurants, theaters, stores and other public places.

Make no mistake that the health hazard of tobacco is the deadliest and in fact the most leading cause of death. Hence, banning smoking in public areas should be of utmost importance as the second hand smoking is considered to be more potently harmful leading to respiratory infections. The second hand smoke is often called as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) which is the largest sources of indoor air pollution. The public places that allow smoking are allowing air to become venomously polluted which is at least 6 times more polluted than a busier highway.

Second hand smoke or passive smoking is even dirtier and harmful than the smoke that is inhaled in a cigarette as it is not filtered. Second hand smoke causes more death rates from lung cancer and it would greatly help non-smokers if smoking is severely banned in the working or public places.

Considering all the harmful effects that a second hand smoke causes, there should be a strict law to be passed down by government agencies by banning smoking in public areas. Surely, tobacco industry is a major contributor to the nation’s economic growth but it shouldn’t be at the expense of people’s lives esp. of non-smokers. So, the negotiation should be tobacco-economic friendly and yet environmental friendly.

References:

Health Dangers of Smoking for Nonsmokers. (n.d.). Retrieved September 07, 2016, fromhttp://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit5/1health_dangers.html

State Smoke-Free Laws for Worksites, Restaurants, and Bars --- United States, 2000--2010. (2011). Retrieved September 08, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6015a2.htm

Burton, R., & Woodward, S. (2000). Reducing passive smoking in public places. Tobacco: The Growing Epidemic, 863-864. doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-0769-9_380