by Krishna Chugani, Troy High School, Fullerton CA
According to the American Lung Organization, secondhand smoke produces 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in minors under 18 years old, with 7,500 to 15,000 of which are hospitalized per year. Despite the fact that tobacco products kill countless people daily through both direct and indirect contact, the tobacco industry remains incredibly wealthy, reaping monstrous profits and taking advantage of tobacco's popularity. Although rules have been enforced regarding the separation of these lethal drugs from the public, they are ineffective and hundreds of thousands continue to die every year from such toxic chemicals. Smoking in locations near the public should be banned because secondhand smoke is exceedingly detrimental to people’s well-being and current rules meant to isolate smoke from the public are ineffective.
Secondhand smoke generated from the public use of these drugs is injurious to people both near and afar. According to the Cleveland Clinic organization, “The smoke from burning tobacco contains more harmful substances than inhaled smoke… These dangerous substances linger in the air for approximately 4 hours and breathing in these particles for only minutes can harm you” (2017). According to Inogen, “Even with up to 25 feet between you and someone with a lit cigarette, you could still breathe in 46 percent more particles compared to air without cigarette smoke.” Not only is smoking harmful for the initial user, but it also has the indirect effect of causing even more damage to non-smoker victims that inhale secondhand smoke produced from smoking. Smoke indirectly harms the public even when dozens of feet away, and has a high risk of proving fatal for sensitive groups. This lethal smoke lingers in the air and pollutes the atmosphere, and is even able to reach people miles away. According to Medical News Today, smoke from tobacco generates fine particulate matter, “which is the most dangerous element of air pollution for health,” and according to the National Geographic Society, air pollution may inflict severe to permanent damage on people’s organs, such as their brain, nerves, or kidneys affecting many by engendering diseases such as cancer and arrhythmia, as well as a multitude of heart conditions. In summary, virtually invisible secondhand smoke may reach unsuspecting people from afar, putting many innocent people in danger who cannot predict nor avoid this smoke. With the harmful potential of this noxious smoke in the atmosphere, banning the use of these toxins is the only efficient method to prevent further harm.
Although there are existing laws that try to isolate smoke chemicals from the public, they are insufficient to contain the spread of these toxic air particles. The current legislation fails to consider that smoke can travel through multiple routes. Current laws consist of separated smoking areas, smoke-free workspaces, and the banning of smoking on enclosed grounds, but they still fail to prevent smoking in areas outside buildings, not to mention that smoke can travel through walls into many other locations. The Center for Disease Control and Protection states, “Secondhand smoke can travel through doorways, cracks in walls, electrical lines, ventilation systems and plumbing.” For example, smokers that pass by a public building can affect those inside, even if the doors are shut, due to the nature of how smoke travels through walls. Unfortunately, there is no perfectly safe distance from smoke for the public. Smoking must be completely banned in public areas in order to decrease risk of severe detriment to people’s well-being, due to the fact that even when smoking is seemingly separated from people, it contains menacing toxins that can travel to others and affect the air around them.
While some may claim that restricting people’s right to smoke is an unjust impediment to their freedom, they fail to consider that smoking in public is an obstruction to people’s fundamental rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” provided by the United States Constitution. If thousands of people are being killed by secondhand smoke, then this practice is a severe infringement to public safety. Thus, millions of lives are being threatened for the sole sake of one’s enjoyment. Since smoke toxins are able to travel miles before disintegrating, then people are unknowingly being affected by contamination even if they manage to avoid insalubrious locations nearby. Additionally, a report by Jim A.C. Everettーa psychologist and philosopher at the University of Oxfordーdelineates that smoking highlights a major moral problem in the world: billions of people struggle to live, while those more privileged pay to die by smoking. Similar to other individual freedoms, the government reserves the right to limit smoking since it seems to impinge on public welfare.
Ultimately, smoking is an example of how people become immoral by placing their own enjoyment over the safety and well-being of the public, possibly leading to society’s demise. It is a primitive habit that demonstrates how people dismiss the harmful effects their actions have on others. Smoking anywhere near the public should be banned because secondhand smoke is a severe detriment to people’s health, and current regulations that control smoking in public are ineffective. The necessary restriction on smoking is of higher importance to public welfare than preserving individual rights. The lives of millions have already been taken with independent enjoyment as the only justification. While the harmful effects of secondhand smoking are long-term and insidious, constant exposure to it creates severe detriments to public health. Therefore, as a sensible society, we must treat this social issue with extreme caution and vigilance by strictly banning secondhand smoke in public places.
Works Cited
“Breathing Space.” Secondhand Smoke & You, Inogen, www.inogen.com/resources/health/breathing-space/#:~:text=No%20Safe%20Distance&text=Even%20with%20up%20to%2025,for%20both%20children%20and%20adults.
“Cigarette Smoke Produces 10 Times More Air Pollution than Diesel Car Exhaust.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/12481.
“Dangers of Secondhand Smoke: Risks and Prevention.” Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/10644-secondhand-smoke-dangers.
Everett, Jim A.C. “Is Smoking Morally Wrong?” Practical Ethics, blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2014/03/is-smoking-morally-wrong/.
“Going Smokefree Matters: In Your Home.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 July 2019, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/secondhand_smoke/going-smokefree-matters/home/index.html.
Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke. 2020, www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/health-effects/secondhand-smoke.
National Geographic Society. “Air Pollution.” National Geographic Society, 9 Oct. 2012, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/air-pollution/.