The Smoking Problem In America Essay, Research Paper

The smoking problem in America

Smoking is a severe detriment to the heath of America. Smoking is harmful to everyone s health, even in second hand form. The main argument for being able to smoke is personal freedom. It is the smokers choice if they want to smoke. I have a variety of different feelings about this topic because I am coming from a different society, distinct from that of America.

First I would like to begin with the subject of tobacco. People have been smoking this poison for a long time. Smoking destroys the lungs and throat; however, this has been common knowledge for several decades. The problem began when people realized that second-hand smoke inhalation was also detrimental to their health. It is a well-known fact that second-hand smoke can also cause serious damage to the lungs and throat.

I had never smoked a cigarette until I was 17. I tried them only at parties and I began to enjoy them. But, because I have been competing in tennis since I was 12, I should not smoke. However, I have to admit that sometimes a cigarette feels good. One or two cigarettes a week do not have any effect on my tennis career. Because of my experiences with smoking, I have sympathy for smokers.

I come from Hungary and smoking is not an important issue there. People can smoke basically everywhere, except where there are designated restrictions. As far as I have experienced, it is an opposite situation here in America. In the states, people can only smoke at a few assigned places. I think both ideologies of these two nations are too strict about their policies. I would rather live in a society where there would not be so much controversy about the smoking issue. In my ideal world, there would be places where smokers can enjoy their pleasure, without any opposition from non-smokers. The non-smokers would not be concerned about second-hand smoking because it would not even exist in their living areas.

Secondly I will write about personal freedom. The people who are really against smoking do not think about the universal freedom. Smokers have the right to smoke at assigned places in the states and nobody should care about them smoking. They are probably aware of the awful consequences of cigarettes. In my opinion, non-smokers should not be concerned about cigarettes and people who smoke just because they hate the smell and all the other bad features of a cigarette. Of course the other side of the issue is when a person smokes in an illegal place. In that case he/she violates the law. In my eyes, a lot of people do not respect other s rights. This regards to both sides. People should have more understanding about others in regards to smoking.

People who say that smoking should be totally illegal are silly. Let us just think about a few things referring to economics. When we take a good look at the tobacco industries budget, we are talking about billions of dollars. Not to mention all the people who actually work there or their work is related somehow to tobacco. A law that would outlaw tobacco entirely would upset the balance of the American economy.

All in all, smoking, in my opinion, should less restricted in the states because our freedom is a more important issue than second-hand smoking. There is always a happy medium in every situation. In societies people have to be more tolerant and understanding and finally they will come to the right agreement.