What does it take to get the message through to everyone that smoking is bad? Public service commercials, medical reports, black lungs from cadavers, and watching people die from smoking does not seem to be enough to get people to stop smoking. The undisputed fact is that smoke from cigarettes is poisonous. So poisonous laws must be passed to protect the victims from the people who could not be bothered to care about their own gratification. Laws must be passed to protect those of us who do not smoke from those that do through second hand smoke. This is not to say that once the big tobacco companies real you in that you become addicted because you do, my mom did. So much so that when my dad had is first heart attack at the age of 35 he quit immediately; however, my mom continued to smoke.
My mother began to smoke at the age of 9 years old. Back then cigarettes were sold to everyone no the matter age. Most people begin smoking very young because they wanted to appear “cool”. To fit in. Watch any of the old movies with such well known stars as Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Cary Grant and they all smoked. There was no information provided to the public, no medical studies to let the public to let them know that smoking was harmful to your health and addictive. Every morning and every night my mom could be found in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She said that it relaxed her.
Tobacco can be consumed by smoking, chewing tobacco and snuffing. By smoking tobacco in the form of cigarettes it not only enters the lungs of the person who is smoking the cigarette but when the exhale they release the harmful toxins into the air to be inhaled by anyone within the local radius.
Nicotine is the addictive drug contained in tobacco products. Nicotine triggers chemical reactions which are associated with reward and pleasure. (Tobacco wikipedia. 2009) Over time the body becomes used to the use of nicotine making it very difficult to quit smoking. Companies have developed nicotine patches to be worn on the body, chewing gum and even hypnosis to help their employees to quit smoking. Some of the symptoms are:
- Urge to smoke
- Depressed mood
- Insomnia
- Irritability, frustration, or anger
- Anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Restlessness
- Decreased heart rate
- Increased appetite or weight gain
Is there an economic impact on banning smoking from bars and restaurants? Big Tobacco would like you to think so. As of 2007 there are 13 Texas cities which have passed 100% smoke free ordinances in bars and restaurants. Companies such as L3 Communications have implemented a smoke free policy that bans employees from smoking within 25 feet of the building. (ABC news, 2007) Even in the Government offices you can not smoke in the offices. Those wishing to smoke must go to a designated smoking area. By making smoking more difficult to do I think that it gives the smoker more incentive to quit. It also equates to a cost savings by the employer. Every time a smoker leaves his or her desk is a loss of productivity. Studies have shown that there is a higher absenteeism rate among smokers. Health care costs are higher for those who smoke. There is also the perception that when a smoker leaves his desk to go and smoke several times a day they are not putting in the same amount of time to their job as a non-smoker.
According to various reports there has been no significant impact on those establishments that have implemented smoke free environments. What is impacted is the sales of tobacco products. This from a once secret document from Phillip Morris, “Financial impact of smoking bans will be tremendous- three to five fewer cigarettes per day per smoker will reduce annual manufacturer Profits a billion dollars plus per year. “ “A smoker’s Alliance: draft” Phillip Morris internal document, July 1, 1993.” (ANR 2009)
Smokers argue that they have a right to smoke. I would agree with their argument. What I do not agree with is when what they do affects other people’s rights. I have never smoked in my life so it is very difficult for me to understand the smoking addiction. I don’t know what it was exactly when we were growing up watching both of my parents smoke but for some reason none of us ever picked up the habit. Quite the opposite, we all became vigorously opposed to it. We didn’t date anyone who smoked and we urged those of our friends who did smoke to quit. To this day I only have one friend who smokes. I respect her right to smoke and she respects my right not to breathe it in.
I find that most smokers tend to go outside when they smoke. They don’t want the smell in their houses, in their cars or in their clothing. I find it curious that they avoid the smell of it but will put it directly into their lungs. Smokers while knowing the toxic effects justify their smoking by saying that they enjoy watching the smoke, or it is an opportunity to talk to other smokers and establish friendships. None of these reasons can supersede the fact that smoking is bad for you.
The good news is that smoking is on the decline. This can be attributed to a couple of reasons. The taxes on cigarettes makes them hard to afford. Companies are requiring that their employees or future employees do not smoke and educating the public about the health hazards of smoking. Big tobacco is no longer allowed to target children and there is now an age requirement on the ability to purchase cigarettes.
Smoking is a choice at the beginning. We need to talk to our children about the risks of smoking before it becomes an addiction. We as parents need to educate our children about the health hazards of smoking before they become addicted. My daughter, unfortunately, watched her grandmother slowly suffocate from emphysema. Seeing the effects that smoking had on her grandmother taught her that smoking will kill you. She has never picked up a cigarette nor has the rest of my nieces and nephews. It was a very difficult thing for them to endure as this is debilitating disease is very slow and took many years before it claimed her life. If this paper can prevent one person from smoking then I have succeeded to hopefully save a life.
References
American for nonsmokers’ rights (2006 retrieved August 2009) http://no-
smoke.org/document.php?ud=219
Wikipedia, Tobacco (retrieved August 2009) http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco
Office of the Surgeon General (retrieved August 2009)
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/
Huang, Philip, MD, MPH (2007). The economic impact of smoke-free Ordinances in
Texas Bar and Restaurant Revenue (retrieved August 2009) Volume 6, issue 4.
