Cigarette smoking is something that has been practiced for a very long time now. It is a legal substance and hence people are free to enjoy the satisfaction that they derive from the product. However, there have been calls for the banning of cigarette smoking since it results to varied debilitating diseases. There are laws that have been passed in different parts of the country that advocate for the banning of smoking. Every state tends to have its own regulations regarding this issue. There are states that limit smoking in some areas while others tend to be lenient to the smokers. The federal government has also tried to contribute to some extent on this issue. It has ensured that the aspect of making smoking look like something cool is not being spearheaded. This has been through regulations on what types of advertisements the cigarette manufacturing companies are allowed to produce (White, 2015). The companies are also expected to create awareness on the harmful can result from cigarette smoking.

The debate on whether cigarette smoking should be banned or not tends to be quite extensive. There are various points that can be used to argue for or against the ban of cigarettes. This something that has created a divide among various stakeholders since most of the points from the opposing camps tends to make sense.

Arguments For the Banning of Cigarette Smoking

Arguments that support the banning of cigarette smoking are spearheaded by scientific research that has proven how smoking can be dangerous. The smoke that emanates from the cigarette has the potential to cause stroke, cancer and heart diseases. This means that smokers are at the risk of contracting these diseases, which in the long-run result in the death of a significant number of people (Quit Smoking Community, 2016). This aspect also prompts the government to invest more funds in the health care sector in order to take care of such issues. These funds would have been used in other developmental projects, but they end up being held on taking care of patients that have contracted various diseases as a result of smoking. The cost of insurance is also said to increase for smokers due to the health issues that are prevalent.

The issue of second-hand smoke has also been voiced by people advocating for the ban of cigarette smoking. It is not only the smoker that is at risk of the prevalent health problems, but also the people around them. Smokers tend to choose to indulge in the act, but the people around them have not made this decision. The public should only be subjected to harm if they are aware of the risks involved and have chosen to accept them (Chew, 2013). This is why there are people advocating for a complete ban when it comes to smoking in public places in order to protect non-smokers from passive smoking. They tend to incur medical bills due to smoke that they did not inhale willingly. Smoking has proved to be harmful to pregnant women too since it would have various effects on the baby. It becomes difficult for the pregnant women to avoid it since it comes in the form of second-hand smoking.

Smokers are also considered to be at a high risk of causing fires and motor vehicle accidents.  They are seven times more likely to cause house fires compared to non-smokers. Approximately 1000 Americans tend to die every year from home fires that are smoking related. NFPA asserts that smoking results to 90,000 fires every year in the United States, and has also contributed to 90% of the wildfires that have been experienced (Sun et al., 2016). When it comes to accidents, studies have shown that smokers tend to be distracted for an average of twelve seconds while fumbling with a cigarette compared to the ten seconds distraction that is associated with cell phones. This is to say that cigarettes are a greater distraction while driving compared to cell phones.  A good example is when an individual drops a cell phone on their lap; they do not seem to panic. However, if a lit cigarette was dropped on the lap, the important task for the driver will be finding the smoke as fast as possible. This aspect is likely to result in an accident.

Arguments Against the Banning of Cigarettes Smoking

Smoking of cigarettes is legal and has remained to be this way for a long time now. For this reason, people feel that the government should not stop people from smoking. The argument that the act of smoking adds up to the amount of funds that the government spends in the health care sector does not seem to hold much ground. This is because smokers tend to fund their own health care through the high taxes that they pay on cigarettes. In 2015, it was estimated that the government collected over $50 billion in tobacco tax revenue. It is also estimated over half a trillion dollars have been collected since 1998. If the tobacco sector is not generating this revenue, the other sectors would be required to generate the revenue or government revenue would be cut (White, 2015).

The tobacco industry also employs a lot of Americans. This is for both the industrial workers and farmers that operate within this industry. In 2013, approximately 13,570 people were working in the tobacco manufacturing industry, and they were receiving a mean annual wage of $58,330. This means that there are a lot of people with nice jobs in this industry (White, 2015). In 2010, United States exported tobacco worth around $1.2 billion. Banning the production of tobacco would only mean that the US is leaving the other countries to reap the benefits as they watch by the side (White, 2015).

The number of Americans that smoke is quite high too. In 2015, the CDC estimated that around 46.6 million Americans were currently smoking. From this number, 36.8 million were habitual smokers and smoked on a daily basis (White, 2015). Given that this number is quite high, it would be a major imposition to stop the activity suddenly. This would result in some form of crisis and demonstrations. A lot of people consume cigarettes on a daily basis, and this means they are addicted to nicotine. Such individuals would cause a lot of revolts.

Smokers claim that they indulge in the act in pursuit of happiness. The declaration of independence has made it clear that everyone should be given the opportunity to pursue their happiness so long as it does not infringe on other people’s happiness. Smokers tend to indulge in this behavior since it makes them happy (Quit Smoking Community, 2016). The consequences that accrue to them are by choice. However, they should enjoy their activity without putting others at risk.

Conclusion

The issue on whether cigarettes smoking should be banned or not has prevailed for a long time. States are coming up with varied laws in order to control this activity. This has resulted to the banning of this activity in some areas. Based on the current affairs, smoking is not likely to go away anytime soon. It has been part of public consumption for a long time now. There is significant support for smoking while at the same time there is a strong support for banning the activity altogether. While taking any side, there will be massive opposition either way. That is why what exists at the moment is more of a concession for both sides.

In my opinion, cigarette smoking should not be banned altogether. What should happen is that smoking should be banned in certain areas. This would include populated areas in order to ensure that non-smokers are not affected by second-hand smoke. Smoking should also be banned while people are driving too. This is to reduce the number of accidents that occur as a result of people smoking while driving. Simply put, it only makes sense to ban smoking in certain public areas or while doing certain activities. The Declaration of Independence gives people the liberty of pursuing happiness so long as it does not infringe on others. Jefferson and Washington grew tobacco crops during their time. Snowmobile riding and skydiving often results in loss of lives, does this mean that they should be banned?  Another example is that of ice cream, it cannot be regarded as being essential to life and usually results to health problems, does this mean it ought to be banned? The list continues. This is the same case with cigarette smoking, it should not be banned, but only restricted in public areas and while doing some activities like driving.

The paper intends to review the article “Responding to online reviews: problem solving and engagement in hotels” by Sun-Young Park and Jonathan P. Allen. . It is based on an evaluation of four hotels in the US and how they respond to consumers’ reviews. Results from a study of four hotels in the US reveal that the service industry is highly reliant on the use of online reviews in the improvement of services to consumers.

References

Chew, N. (2013). Three Reasons Why Smoking Should Be Banned. LIVESTRONG.COM. Retrieved 4 December 2016, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/207919-three-reasons-why-smoking-should-be-banned/

Isidore, C. (2014). Maker of Camel cigarettes bans smoking in its offices. CNNMoney. Retrieved 5 December 2016, from http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/23/news/companies/camel-smoking-ban/index.html

Sun, Q., Akinbobola, O., & Crawford, M. (2016). Secondhand smoke: A comparison of exposure to bar employees in a state with smoking bans and a state without smoking bans. Environmental Disease, 1(2), 65.

Quit Smoking Community. (2016). The Big Debate: Should Cigarette Smoking Be Banned – Quit Smoking Community. Quit Smoking Community. Retrieved 5 December 2016, from https://quitsmokingcommunity.org/the-big-debate-should-cigarette-smoking-be-banned/

White, R. (2015). Smoke screens: The Truth About Tobacco (1st ed.). Raleigh, NC: Richard White.

Do you need an Original High Quality Academic Custom Essay?