Should Cigarettes be Made Illegal?

Should Cigarettes Be Made Illegal?

The sale and production of cigarettes should be illegalized globally. In the ancient civilizations, Greeks, Egyptians and Mayans smoked cigarettes during religious ceremonies and special periodic occasions. However, the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas accelerated the spread of cigarette use not only in the West but also other parts of the globe. Resultantly, unregulated and widespread use of cigarettes revealed its lethal side effects. Today, most of the cancerous diseases are attributable to the prolonged use of Cigarettes. Therefore, state resources should be channeled towards inhibition of production and sale of cigarettes.

            Cigarette smokers are unaware of its contents and how they affect mortals. Studies indicate that a cigarette contains more than 4000 distinct chemicals. Out of these components, some are poisonous to the human body while the rest are carcinogenic. The most common include urethane, carbon monoxide, tar, methanol, and mercury. Inhalation of carbon monoxide during cigarette smoking affects hemoglobin in the red blood cells. As a result, it hinders the cell’s ability to carry adequate oxygen to particular body organs like the brain. Besides, scientists have discovered that cigarette smoking affects an individual’s immune system. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women because it increases the chances of premature birth, miscarriage, or birth defects (World Health Organization, 2015).

            Cigarettes should be illegalized because they damage the user’s health immensely. Each chemical component in tobacco harbors external and internal body effects. For instance, nicotine enslaves smokers to regular use of tobacco due to its addictive traits. To make it worse, suffering is amplified should a person withdraw from religious smoking. Researchers attribute this side effect to nicotine’s alteration of brain chemistry. Furthermore, quitting cigarette smoking renders users vulnerable to cataracts and gingivitis development. Premature aging and wrinkle development is also attributable to nicotine. In the United States alone, more than 40% of 50 million smokers attempt to quit cigarette use more than once annually but nicotine makes it an uphill task. In fact, statistics indicate that only one out of ten will succeed (Rogers, 2012). Therefore, banning cigarette use solves the problem by eliminating the need for users to quit the habit.

            Advertising costs, healthcare costs and the cost of smoking are growing by double digits thus raising the level of taxes imposed on the citizens. It cannot be denied that cigarette packs are heavily taxed, but the revenue generated can hardly cover the cost of healthcare provision, especially for diseases linkable to cigarettes. A classic example is that in the state of California, the state raise to $11 billion dollars from the tobacco industry. However, this figure fades when compared to $50 billion spent on healthcare provision to the state’s residents (Ng, 2011). Specifically, this is unfair for non-smokers because they have to bear a burden. It is approximated that staunch smokers spend more than $1500 on cigarette purchase annually. If cigarettes are illegalized, resources such as these can be redirected to profitable and substantial investments.

In summary, it is clear that cigarette smoking has more cons than pros. Even though it can take years for the directive of cigarette illegalization to be effected, it is safe to say that the lawmakers should express interest for the betterment of the future generations. Most importantly, the governments, NGOs and international organization should be at the forefront in educating the public on the health dangers and financial implications of prolonged cigarette use. In this way, the process of its illegalization will be eased, thus leading to a substantial drop in annual incurrence on healthcare.

References

Ng, P. C. (2011). Coming to America: A Gold Mountain Dream. Victoria, Canada: Friesen Press.

Rogers, V. (2012). A Little Book of Tobacco: Activities To Explore Smoking Issues With Young People. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

World Health Organization. (2015). Illegal Trade Of Tobacco Products: What You Should Know To Stop It.