Should Public Smoking Be Banned?

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According to the World Health Organization, studies show that passive smoking causes more than 600,000 deaths a year. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and produces substantial health-related economic costs to society. Smoking has not only been proven dangerous to the people smoking the cigarette, but also to the people around them inhaling the dangerous fumes. So, should smoking be banned in public places? (issue) The government should ban smoking in public places because it would be beneficial to both smokers and nonsmokers around them. (claim) It is nearly impossible to ignore the fact that cigarette smoke is harmful. (subclaim) According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it is the leading cause of cancer and is associated with several health problems. Smoking is known to cause several different cancers including: cancer of the lungs, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidneys, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix as well as acute myeloid leukemia can all be linked to smoking. Smoking has also been said to cause heart disease, strokes, lung disease, and many airway infections. The NCI also proved that 438,000 premature deaths each year in the United States were caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. Of those premature deaths, about 40 percent were from cancer, 35 percent from heart disease and stroke, and 25 percent from lung disease. (support) This all shows that people breathing in cigarette smoke from nearby smokers are just as greatly at risk for health problems. The government has a responsibility to protect their citizens. Smoking should be banned because people have the right to breathe fresh air. (subclaim) Just because some people put their own health at risk by indulging in a cigarette, does not mean that non-smokers should have no choice but to suffer the same health problems. According to Mattias

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