Smoking Ban

Smoking ban in public places

Smoking has always been understood to be unhealthy, but when you decide not to smoke for health reasons, you should not be forced to deal with second hand smoke. Most people don't realize it, but when you go to a bar or restaurant and there are people smoking freely, your lungs are being damage. Smoking in public areas such as restaurants and bars is damaging to innocent people by smell, health and mental health.

Smoking bans have already been put into effect in many states. The smoking ban is mostly effective towards restaurants and bars. Some restaurant owners have moved out of the area because they said that it was lowering there income, but most have stayed. Some people say that smoking in public areas is one of there rights, but why should non smoking people be force to this habit when it is not there habit. The American lung association conducted "A study that found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases compared to nonsmokers not exposed to smoke".

Second hand smoke is deadly it contains so many chemicals, it is unbelievable that non-smoking individuals have to be introduced to these deadly chemicals. Environmental asthma triggers have said "Secondhand smoke, also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), consists of exhaled smoke from smokers and side stream smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, including over 40 compounds that are known carcinogens". I myself am effected by second hand smoke greatly because I have asthma and whenever im around someone smoking I begin to cough erratically.

There have been plenty of times that I have been to a restaurant and I have come smelling like an ash tray, this is another nuisance that non-smokers have to deal with when they go to a public area with people smoking. Even though it doesn't seem like a big deal but who wants to come home after a night out and take all there clothes off and put them in the wash and has to take a shower because our skin and hair smell like cigarette smoke, it is not fair towards us non-smokers.

The EPA have "estimated that 35,000 to 40,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers and about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults, other respiratory problems in nonsmokers, including coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis), in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations, increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million asthmatic children, low birth weight in babies whose mothers are exposed to ETS". these are all the