Smoking After Many Studies, Observations

Smoking

After many studies, observations and investigations, it can no longer be denied that smoking is dangerous, especially to the smoker him- or herself. More recent studies have also suggested that second-hand smoke poses significant dangers to the non-smoker. A non-smoker therefore is at risk of certain conditions and diseases even by merely being in the vicinity where smokers are indulging in their addiction. Legal and governmental actions such as the recent identification of environmental tobacco smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant (TAC) is a culmination of the increasing understanding of the dangers that this substance holds for the human body. I therefore believe that it is in the interest not only of non-smokers, but also of smokers, to make smoking illegal in all public places and anywhere in the vicinity of children.

According to the Action on Smoking and Health's "Factsheet: No. 2 http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html (accessed 07March07), smoking is a more dangerous habit than many realize. It includes a higher likelihood not only of fatal, but also of non-fatal conditions with varying degrees of debilitation. Asthma, heart disease and influenza for example have been shown to occur with greater frequency in smokers. Furthermore, smokers are also in greater danger than non-smokers of premature death as a result of their habit. Indeed, the Action on Smoking and Health Web site states that worldwide, a staggering 5 million smokers per year die prematurely, and that half of all smokers are at risk of premature death.

The prospects for non-smokers exposed to secondary smoke are also gloomy. According to Science News Online. http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/1_17_98/fob1.htm (accessed 07March07), a study has shown that secondary smoke causes at least 40% of the damage to a non-smoker as smoking does. Surely, for the protection not only of non-smokers, but also of smokers themselves and of our children, the law should discourage this habit.