Background and context Tobacco is one of the most widely-used recreational drugs in the world; mainly in the form of cigarettes, but also in cigars and pipes, and in combination with cannabis and marijuana in 'joints'. Although most countries put age restrictions on its use, over a billion adults smoke tobacco legally every day, and supplying this demand is big business. As well as having serious health consequences for smokers themselves, the pollution of other people's atmospheres with cigarette smoke also makes this an environmental issue.Attitudes have changed rapidly over the past twenty years. In the developed world, public opinion has shifted against smoking. By the 1990s, the sheer weight of evidence had forced major tobacco companies to admit that their products are both harmful and addictive.
Marijuana use has many dangerous side effects even after one has stopped using the drug. According to McGuinness (2009), “Mood and cognitive effects of marijuana include exacerbation of depression and anxiety (including panic attacks), as well as memory problems that may persist for a month after last use” (p. 19). The facts surrounding the negative impact of smoking marijuana should be enough for anyone to not smoke the drug. Unfortunately people ignore the warnings about the negative impact mariujana has on the body. The warnings about marijuana use are most likely ignored because people, especially teens have not personally witnessed anyone suffer from the affects of marijuana addiction.
Smoking is a source of great controversy, and most individuals either support it or oppose it. Almost no middle ground exists on the topic of tobacco smoking, and individuals against smoking have taken great strides to promote the cessation of smoking in public places. Unfortunately, this has led to the formation of numerous laws that forbid smoking in specific public places like restaurants, bars, parks, and in some cities, even street corners. Smoking bans target a very wide demographic, alienating regular customers of some establishment and killing business in others. If only for this reason, most smoking bans should not be in place.
The strongest argument against the ban of public smoking comes from business owners. The owners of restaurants and bars that cannot allow smoking in the establishment are losing business from their non-smoking customers. The smoking population also believes that the ban on smoking takes away his or her freedom and rights. The debates toward smoking in public places has always existed, but know the debate is stronger than ever with the recent laws passed to ban smoking in public areas. The following debate will highlight both sides and present strong information of those who support the banning of smoking in public places and
statistically there are 480,000 deaths annually caused by smoking cigarettes. Tobacco should be outlawed because of the dangerous health risk it causes. Originally, Tobacco has a history with the americas. Mayan Indians of Mexico carved drawings in stone showing tobacco use. Native Americans used tobacco for religious and medical reasons, they did not use it everyday.
If you skim through a magazine, at least two or three of these brands leap out at you. Cigarette ads are not allowed any more on television, with the result that the companies invest their advertising budgets in newspapers and magazines. Should so many ads be placed in papers? Especially when they sell smoking as the “in-thing” to do. Or is this an overreaction?
Protests were launched because people believed the use of a carton character was intended to target children. Peart (1993) writes: U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello demanded that the tobacco company remove Joe Camel from all its advertising and marketing. Although the Surgeon General’s office had no legal authority to force a change, Novello said the company should do it [stop using Joe Camel] for moral reasons, because the ads enticed youngsters to smoke. As evidence, she cited a study showing that children as young as age 6 recognized the Joe Camel character and linked it [the cartoon character] with smoking.
Homosexuals and Blood Donation Introduction For the past 3 decades, homosexual men, or MSM’s (men who have sex with men), have been banned from donating blood in a number of countries. This has been an ongoing issue since the 1980’s AIDS epidemic, when it was “determined” that homosexuals were more likely to be affected. This is not necessarily true, and is a very prominent form of bigotry in today’s society. Homosexuality does not define a person, therefore people who live their lives in this way should not be denied the same opportunities as everyone else. Why They Are Not Allowed Since the 1980’s, gay men have been banned from donating blood due to the belief that they are more likely to be affected by HIV/ AIDS.
Over the past few decades or so, the major cigarette companies have pursued a safer cigarette but have not gotten very far. “Industry researchers often found ways of lowering one or two of the dangerous compounds, only to discover that their tinkering had either increased the level of some other harmful compound or so dramatically altered the cigarette that it wouldn't be accepted by consumers.” (PBS-Cigarette History). All in all the cigarette companies have only brought down the levels of tar and cyanide in cigarettes but have not really made much progress in making a “safer cigarette.” Through all these efforts and all the ages of trying, cigarettes are still harmful to the human body. Smoking harms nearly every organ in our system, and causes many diseases, not to mention the reduction in the general health of
October 31, 2011 The Production and Sale of Tobacco Products Should be Made Illegal in the United States I believe that the production and sale of cigarettes in the United States should be made illegal. As a former smoker myself, I have come to believe everyone should quit. When I first stopped smoking I thought the reasons to stop were pretty simple. I thought about the bad smell of cigarettes, the high cost of smoking, the litter of cigarette butts that I saw everywhere, and of course the risks to your own and other peoples health. But the thought of making the production and sale of cigarettes illegal is a more recent belief.