Let's get one thing straight from the start: If you smoke - it will kill or maim you or someone you know. It's honestly just that simple. There is no equivocating, eluding, or disagreeing with this cold, hard fact. More than that, tobacco use in general is sure to hurt you at some point in your life. Maybe, if you use tobacco even occasionally, you think that I'm overstating the facts. Maybe you think that I'm just another no-fun-kill-joy who wants to take everything fun away from everyone because that's just what I do. I say, however, that tobacco is a stain (often quite literally) on our society that must be fought at every level. This issue has always been something that has been important to me since tobacco took away the pleasure of meeting my paternal grandmother. So, I am writing this in an effort to refute the arguments that I have heard supporters of tobacco use make. I invite you to read on and share this, and other articles like it, so that society will finally unite against tobacco.
To begin, smoking does not only affect those people who choose to smoke. The CDC estimates that more than two million people in America have died because of second hand smoke since 1964. Not impressed by this? How about the 34,000 heart disease deaths that happened between 2005 to 2009? Or the higher risk of respiratory infections, sudden and severe asthma attacks, and problems with their respiratory system that second hand smoke causes in children? These adults and children did not smoke. They did not make the choice to smoke. Unlike almost any other cause of death, they in no way impacted how they would die. Even those who die in car accidents at some point chose to drive. But the two million people who have died because of second hand smoke simply lived near smoke.
But, lets pretend that you don't care about unintentionally and unknowingly ruining the lives of others. The second problem is tobacco will maim or kill you. The CDC reported in 2014 that tobacco use, worldwide, causes nearly 6 million deaths per year. This makes it the leading cause of preventable death in America. So, when you choose to smoke or, most often, choose to continue smoking, you are choosing to seriously harm yourself. There are laws that require those who have tried to commit suicide to be helped, in hopes that they won't try to do so again. Likewise, doctors are required to note and often report when they see signs of self harm. While smoking may not be quite as immediate, it has the same long term effect. So, when laws are made to fight against smoking, they are fighting to protect people and I think that this is an admirable quality, not one to be treated as if it were tyrannical. If I were to see someone who was prepared to jump off a bridge I, and I hope most people, would attempt to stop them by some means. I would not think to myself "Meh. They're an adult, they can make their own choices." To be quite frank, I think the government should be able to stop people from making very poor life choices that will definitely kill or decrease their state of living.
Moreover, from a law point of view, the state has a significant interest to stop you from smoking, not even counting their desire to preserve the lives of its people. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that from 2006 to 2010, $170 billion was spent on healthcare costs related to cigarette smoking. 60 percent of this $170 billion comes from public funds (i.e. taxpayer dollars). So, not only would ending the use of tobacco save millions, if not billions, of lives - it would save billions of taxpayer dollars per year. People rave about cutting federal waste and government funding of abortions, when so much money and lives could be saved just by advocating for the prohibition of tobacco use.
As of yet, I've shown very little compassion for tobacco users, but I want to be very clear that this is not an article that directs malice towards those who use tobacco. In fact, it is an article that I wrote with great concern for those who use tobacco. I understand that many smokers want to quit (almost 70 percent according to the CDC) and attempt to quit often. I also understand that it is not easy to quit, the CDC also reported that many scientists believe that quitting smoking is as difficult as heroin or cocaine. That being said though, it is not impossible to quit. A doctor can help those willing to quit and there are countless methods that will aide anyone addicted to tobacco in their journey to sobriety. Your family, friends, and society will thank you if you put the effort into quitting. If nothing else, I would thank you. I was robbed of my grandmother because of smoking and I live in fear that my dad will be taken away from me early because he grew up in a household of tobacco uses. I don't want anyone else to lose family members to tobacco. So, please, quit smoking. It's the best decision you'll ever make.
