The Banishment of Cigarettes

Should people be allowed to smoke cigarettes in  world where other smokables are being legalized by Garv Mohan Sood.

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In today’s free and democratic world, everyone is free to do what they please.

As a result of this, people who are unmindful of their health, and that of the people around them, smoke cigarettes regularly. Some feel that the increased awareness has led to increased popularity of cigarettes, however, I am of the opinion that this is not true to a large extent as those who are smart and can understand the horrible effects of tobacco would never smoke even if they saw an advertisement on it.

One side of the issue (Perspective 1) is that along with the drug marijuana, the government must also ban cigarettes. This is true because both are extremely addictive and destroy the health and well being of an individual.

In many countries of the world, cigarettes guts can be seen littered on the roads and the people around smokers suffer as they breathe in second hand smoke (passive smoke) with is equally unhealthy. Therefore, it is clear that cigarettes can actually be regarded to be worse than marijuana for the reason provided in the above example.

Another view (Perspective 2) of the issue is that all unhealthy things available to us cannot be banned, as it should be a personal choice. They feel that unhealthy foods that lead to obesity are not banned, so a ban on cigarettes would infringe on an individual’s right to control his or her own life. About 20% of the people in the United States are obese however, some decide to improve their health and they loose their weight after exercise. This is not the case with smoking as if you have smoked for a long period of time; the damage has already been done. Smoking also affects the people around you that is not the case when someone overeats. This ties us back to the big issue that the ban of smoking is actually necessary.

Others are of the opinion that (Perspective 3) banning something would largely be unsuccessful and many people would still continue smoking illegally. This is true to some extent as during the festival of Diwali, eventough firecrackers were banned, some people did burn firecrackers. However there was a slight reduction in the volume of crackers burnt. Thus this example proves the fact that a ban does not completely stop a practice but makes sure that it does not remain as widespread as before. Hence, a ban on cigarettes would help to reduce the problem to some extent.

In conclusion, I feel that despite a few drawbacks, a ban on cigarettes would prove beneficial to the society as a whole. This is true as the detrimental effects of smoking can ruin a person’s health and cause many chronic diseases, like cancer. Some the last several decades, society has become increasingly aware of this plague and now we should all work together to do away with this problem forever.

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Written By Garv Mohan Sood