Banning Cigarettes

Word Count: 3029

Jeremy S. Kenton Mr. Condon English 3 2 Jan 1995 Cigarettes: What’s Killing Our Country This year alone cigarettes will kill over 420,000 Americans, and many more will suffer from cancers, and circulatory and respiratory system diseases. These horrible illnesses were known to originate from cigarettes for years, and recently nicotine, the main chemical additive in cigarettes, was declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration. This explains why smokers continue to use cigarettes even though smokers are aware of the constantly warned about health dangers in cigarettes. Although smokers constitute the majority of people who suffer from cigarettes, they are not the only ones ailing from cigarette smoke. As UC San Francisco scientist and author Stanton Glantz estimates in Shari Roan’s article, the amount of second-hand smoke inhaled by the typical nonsmoker is equivalent to one cigarette smoked per day.1 Even that amount of cigarette smoke can damage a person's heart. Some researchers have also concluded that smoking by pregnant women causes the deaths of over 5,000 babies and 115,000 miscarriages.2 The only way to terminate the suffering and loss of life brought upon by cigarettes exists as a complete proscription on them. Opponents to the banning of cigarettes argue that it will create a profound negative impact on the economy. They do not realize that this nation places the health of its citizens above its financial status. Although many people continue to remain convinced that absolving our country of cigarettes does not merit some economical loss, this remains as a necessary step in eradicating our country of these virulent stiflers of life. For years cigarettes have been known to cause cancer, emphysema, and other horrible illnesses. The deaths of over 420,000 of Americans this year will be attributable to cigarettes. With all the other causes of preventable deaths, alcohol, illegal drugs, AIDS, suicide, transportation accidents, fires, and guns, cigarettes still account for more preventable deaths than those do combined, as stated by Lonnie Bristow M.D. of the American Medical Association at her speech to Indiana University. We can no longer stand aside and watch fellow Americans die because they smoke cigarettes. Thousands of smokers try to rid themselves of cigarettes but can’t because of the physiological dependence they develop, chiefly imputable to its chemical additive nicotine. Nicotine was recently declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration, which explains why many smokers continue to smoke despite the numerous health warnings on cigarette smoking. Although cigarettes do not offer as intense an effect as drugs like heroin and cocaine, they rank higher in the level of dependence it creates in the user. Since cigarettes fit in the array of regulated addictive drugs, they should also be regulated like those in the same array as cigarettes. David Kesslar of the Food and Drug Administration says in a letter to an antismoking coalition, “...cigarette manufacturers may intend that their products contain nicotine to satisfy an addiction...Although technology to remove nicotine from [cigarettes] was developed years ago cigarette manufacturers shun it. Instead [they] control with precision the amount of nicotine in their products, ensuring that it [will] maintain an addiction.”.4 Nicotine engenders it almost impossible for cigarette smokers to quit smoking because of its addictive nature, and with the cigarette manufacturers manipulating the amount nicotine the only manner available remains to outlaw cigarettes. The health of tens of thousands of nonsmoking Americans a year are affected by cigarette smokers. Of those who do not smoke 53,000 will die and countless others will suffer from cardiovascular diseases as reported by the American Heart Association. Scott Ballin of the Coalition on Smoking or Health says that, “The scientific evidence continues to accumulate that says there is this connection to secondha

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