Picture walking down a block in New York city without seeing burnt out cigarettes on the ground or laying on top of trash cans. Better yet imagine taking a stroll in New York City without inhaling the sickening scent of all the dangerous chemicals of a cigarette. You could breath easily without sucking in your breath to avoid the gut wrenching smell of the tobacco. Smoking is the action of inhaling fumes and exhaling the fumes of burnt plant material, typically tobacco. Unfortunately, the United States is exploiting citizens by continuing to sell tobacco and making billions of dollars off of the tobacco business every year. Tobacco smoking should be banned in the United States because the products produce health complications, the nicotine inside the tobacco is highly addictive, and cigarettes can create high amounts of pollution.
To begin, smoking has many negative effects, especially health wise. A study was conducted to calculate the number of tobacco users across the world. “Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable cancers. [World Health Organization] WHO estimated around 1.27 billion tobacco users world-wide. Tobacco consumption alone accounts for nearly 5.4 million deaths per year and one billion people may die in this century if global tobacco consumption remained at the current levels,” (WHO). This proves that tobacco can be very dangerous and have negative effects. Because tobacco smoking products such as cigarettes contain a main ingredient of tobacco, smoking should be banned because tobacco can be hazardous. It is shown that tobacco can result in health problems or even death. If tobacco smoking was banned, tobacco would not be easily accessible through cigarettes leading to less deaths.
Additionally, tobacco smoking can be very addictive. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed why nicotine makes tobacco products so addictive. “Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical compound present in a tobacco plant. All tobacco products contain nicotine, including cigarettes, non-combusted cigarettes…cigars, smokeless tobacco…hookah tobacco, and most e-cigarettes. Using any tobacco product can lead to nicotine addiction. This is because nicotine can change the way the brain works, causing cravings for more of it. Some tobacco products, like cigarettes, are designed to deliver nicotine to the brain within seconds, making it easier to become dependent on nicotine and more difficult to quit,” (FDA). This demonstrates that tobacco products can be very addictive because of the nicotine that they contain. Because nicotine can rapidly release dopamine, a chemical that gives you feelings of pleasure, tobacco products can easily become addictive. As a result, companies are able to use the power of the nicotine to their advantage and exploit their customers by delivering the nicotine to the brain faster. If tobacco smoking was banned, fewer people would have to suffer the addiction of tobacco in the future. In summary, the nicotine in tobacco smoking products is very addictive making smoking hard to quit, which is why the United States should help the many addicted citizens by not allowing it at all.
Although many people think that tobacco smoking only harms humans, therefore a person should be able to choose whether they smoke or not, tobacco smoking products can also be detrimental to the environment. Cigarettes, one of the many tobacco smoking products, can be particularly harmful to the environment. Earth Day, an environmental movement explained, “Cigarette butts are actually the most abundant form of plastic waste in the world, with about 4.5 trillion individual butts polluting our global environment… They are made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material, and contain hundreds of toxic chemicals. While cigarette filters, or the plastic part of butts, can take up to 10 years to completely degrade, the chemicals they release can remain in the environment for many more years beyond the life of the cigarette butt itself. These lingering toxins include arsenic (also used in rat poisoning), lead (a poison that can affect the brain development of children), and nicotine,” (Earth Day). Because the countless cigarette butts that are left on the ground release chemicals, it validates that tobacco smoking is harmful to the environment. As an effect, environments where arsenic is heavily present will not be able to grow certain organisms. Unfortunately, arsenic can also dissolve into water. This can lead to contamination of lakes and even underground water. In summary, tobacco smoking is not only hazardous for the user, but also the environment.
Instead of immediately banning tobacco smoking altogether, the United States can attempt to make tobacco smoking products less accessible. There are over 12,000 smoke shops in the United States, making tobacco smoking products very easy to purchase. By limiting the amount of smoke shops, those who want to quickly buy a cigarette or cigar will not be able to as conveniently. This will lead to less tobacco smokers, lower amounts of preventable deaths, and a healthier environment.