Banning Smoking in Public Places the Debate

Banning Smoking in Public Places

The debate on whether or not a nationwide federal smoking ban in all public places should be enacted has been going on for quite a while. In the U.S., most bans as well as restrictions in regard to cigarette smoking are a product of state laws. Although there are those who are convinced that public smoking should not be banned citing various reasons, numerous studies have in the past clearly demonstrated that secondhand smoke adversely affects the health and well-being of nonsmokers.

Recognizing the Need for a Nationwide Federal Smoking Ban in all Public Places

A recent Institute of Medicine report according to Belluck, found out that "smoking bans in places like restaurants, offices and public buildings reduce cases of heart attacks and heart disease…" In a majority of cases, those advocating for the banning of smoking in all public places base their arguments on the adverse effects secondhand smoke has on nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke as Hanson, Venturelli and Fleckenstein point out "includes a mixture of smoke that comes directly from the lighted tip of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe" (341). Indeed, as Anderson notes, nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke tend to face almost the same risks as smokers (22). To begin with, Hanson, Venturelli and Fleckenstein note that secondhand smoke makes nonsmokers more vulnerable to heart attacks based on the harmful effect such kind of smoke has on the human cardiovascular system (341). It is also important to note that apart from occasioning damage to nonsmokers' cardiovascular systems, secondhand smoke also leaves nonsmokers exposed to lung cancer. To put this into perspective, Hanson, Venturelli and Fleckenstein point out that "nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at work or home increase their lung cancer risk by 20-30%" (342).

The effect secondhand smoke has on pregnant women is also well documented. In this case, pregnant women exposed to this kind of cigarette smoke have their chances of delivering babies with low birth weight increased by 20% (Hanson, Venturelli and Fleckenstein 342). Secondhand smoke also impacts negatively on the health of growing children. As Anderson points out, "many studies have found a link between secondhand smoke and asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and middle-ear infections in children" (22).

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