Everyday I walk around my beautiful campus, the University of South Carolina, breathing in the refreshing southern air, but sometimes, instead of this luxurious air, I inhale a fog of horrid cigarette smoke. "There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are poisonous" (American Lung Association). Why would anyone want poison in their body? Cigarettes should have heavier restrictions, such as being banned in public places and raising the age limit, because they are a powerful, addicting drug that are very damaging to the people who smoke them, the people who inhale second hand smoke, and the environment. With these restrictions there would be some consequences such as, a loss of money and jobs in the tobacco industry, outrage in the people who don't agree with it, and so on. However, when you look at the big picture, it is very clear that cigarettes should have these restrictions. "Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year" (American Lung Association). Key word here is preventable! This can change and it should change. All of these deaths can be avoided. Hopefully laws will become stricter and even more lives will be saved.

Cigarettes are known to be bad for the human body. No one should have these specific chemicals, that are in cigarettes, in their body. Over 7,000 chemicals! Why would anyone want any of these hazardous elements inside of them? People smoke tobacco because they are not educated enough about these killers and then soon become addicted. "Nearly all tobacco use begins in childhood and adolescence. In all, 88% of adult cigarette smokers who smoke daily, report that they started smoking by the age of 18. This is a time in life of great vulnerability to social influences, and the pervasive presence of tobacco product marketing ... conveys messages that make tobacco use attractive to youth and young adults" (Serious Problem). Children are peer pressured into smoking since everyone else is doing it, you can get a "buzz" from it, and it seems mature and cool. This them becomes an ongoing cycle because as these children grow up they become addicted and then the kids younger than them think its cool and sophisticated so they do it. The cycle will never stop unless we educate these kids about how bad cigarettes are. "Among U.S. high school seniors, one out of four is a regular cigarette smoker. Because few high school smokers are able to break free from the powerful addicting effects of nicotine, about 80% will smoke into adulthood. Among those who persist in smoking, one-half will die about 13 years earlier than his or her nonsmoking peers" (Serious Problem). These students are dying due to a lack of education. This can easily be avoided if we just educated our students at a younger age and got it stuck in their heads about how bad they really are. 

While we are trying to educate these students on the effects of smoking, tobacco companies are turning around and doing whatever it takes to make money. Because the younger crowd is uneducated about this, tobacco industries advertise toward them. "Most tobacco industry marketing efforts involve promotional activities that reduce the price of cigarettes, strategies that should be effective with price-sensitive adolescents" (Serious Problem). Tobacco industries are not concerned that their products are killing people, they just want the money. Their advertisements are directed specifically toward teenagers because they believe that these children will buy their products, eventually become addicted, and become a life-long customer. These children are unaware that they are being victimized by these big corporations and don't realize that they are going to be trapped for life. Tobacco industries have reduced their advertising as this article, "Tobacco Sales are Declining," explains, "The companies reported spending $8.1 million on such advertising in 2009, and $4.4 million in 2010. The companies had previously reported spending $20.7 million and $11.5 million on such advertising in 2007 and 2008, respectively." This is great that companies are not advertising as much but they have not completely stopped, meaning it is still a problem. 

Now, tobacco use has decreased a lot over the years but that doesn't mean it is over. It is fantastic that the use of tobacco isn't as big of an issue as it used to be. However, it is still a major issue. "The rates of tobacco use among youth and young adults began to decrease from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. Thus, progress in reducing tobacco use has been achieved, but there still remain significant challenges ahead" (Serious Problem). We have learned so much about cigarettes but that doesn't mean everyone has stopped smoking them. People continue to try cigarettes and become addicted. The problem has not been solved and we still have a long way until this is actually over. We can make tobacco sales decrease by teaching kids how bad tobacco is and proving to them that it is not cool and actually kills them. Showing kids that tobacco industries are tricking them will also help this epidemic come to an end, but this will not completely stop it. Something bigger and more serious needs to be done, such as making laws stricter to stop teenagers from buying them.  

Not only are cigarettes bad for your own health, they are bad for everyone around you. Basically everyone knows what cigarette smoke smells like and it is not a pleasant smell. Every time you smell that hideous odor, whether you're at a park, driving with your windows down, or just walking to class, you are inhaling all of those chemicals and toxins. "Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard for people of all ages, causing more than 41,000 deaths each year" (American Lung Association). This effects everybody. Not only should you not smoke, but you shouldn't want anyone else to smoke because it is hurting you. 41,000 is a big number and the fact that those are all deaths that can be prevented is outrageous. Something must change. We have made some progress with tobacco use overall, but the best example of showing how second-hand smoke has changed is in Montana. "It is very clear that to breathe smoke from someone else's tobacco is just as bad for you as if you were breathing it directly. Studies have shown that in states like Montana, which is now smoke free, heart disease has dropped by as much as 60%" (Lato). Making Montana smoke free has made a difference, a big difference. This is making people healthier and helping people have a better quality of life. This is good for everyone. Every one is affected by secondhand smoke, even smokers. Smokers are breathing in their own secondhand smoke and other smokers' secondhand smoke. 

Robert Frances Lato, the author of the article called, "Secondhand Smoke Is Dangerous," explains an experience he had with secondhand smoke. His story is about a simple encounter he had with a "very heavy smoker." Lato needed to pick up a check from this smoker but Lato didn't want to go into his house because he knew it would reek and he could possibly even get sick. Lato asked him if he would put the check in the mailbox so that he wouldn't have to go in the house and also so he wouldn't disturb him. He picked up the check and "As I started driving away, with the envelope in my SUV, I instantly smelled smoke, big time. I actually had to hold it out the window while I drove to air it out because it smelled so awful. I wish I were kidding" (Lato). This man had to avoid going into this other man's house because of how bad it smelled. The odor was so distinct that it was attached to the house and everything within the house, even the envelope. The fact that this man always has a gross smell of cigarette smoke on him is terrible. Even after he showers he probably smells. Lato later ends his article by saying, "We know about the dangers of smoking today more than ever before. Think back about people who have passed on, and no one knew why their grandfather had heart trouble, even though he didn't smoke. Could it be that he sat right beside a coworker for years who smoked? Life is so precious in many ways. Protecting yourself and loved ones can be as easy as looking both ways before you cross the street" (Lato). People are dying because of other people smoking. Not only are smokers killing themselves but they are killing others too. This leads to the question, how could something that kills so many people be legal?

Not only does it kill people but it also costs a lot of money. "Smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion each year, including: Nearly $170 billion for direct medical care for adults and More than $156 billion in lost productivity, including $5.6 billion in lost productivity due to secondhand smoke exposure" (Smoking & Tobacco Use). So much money is being spent on these illnesses that could be completely avoided. This money is being wasted. If people didn't smoke, we would have all of this money that could go toward things to help us advance in the world and to more research. However, some people believe nothing needs to change since sales are declining. In the article, "Tobacco Sales are Declining," it states, "Sales declined from 320.0 billion in 2008 to 290.2 billion in 2009, while cigarettes given away declined from 2.7 billion in 2008 to 0.1 billion in 2009. In 2010, the total number of cigarettes sold and given away declined again, to 281.6 billion units." So yes, sales are declining, which is great! But just because sales are decreasing does not mean that this problem is over. We still have a long way to go. There is still a problem. 

Finally, the environment is affected just as much as the smoker and everyone else breathing in that horrendous smoke. The people who breathe in the smoke, which is practically everyone, are affected negatively. But then when you think about the environment, all that smoke is going straight into the atmosphere. If the environment isn't healthy, then how can we be healthy? The Earth is already polluted enough and cigarettes are making it worse and we can prevent that. Not only do smokers blow out the hazardous smoke, they also litter their left over cigarette on the ground. "An estimated 4.5 trillion of the annual 6 trillion cigarettes sold worldwide are not disposed of properly, but are conveniently flicked anywhere" (Iacurci). That is 75% of cigarettes that are thrown into the environment. I'm not an expert when it comes to keeping the environment clean, but I know throwing dirty cigarette buds on the ground is not helping. Also, littering is illegal so this shouldn't be happening, but it does. "This type of litter is literally toxic to the environment. Chemicals in cigarettes such as arsenic, nicotine, lead and ethyl phenol could seep into salt and fresh water and be extremely dangerous to aquatic micro-organisms and fish" (Iacurci). If people keep this up and continue to litter, animals are going to go extinct and the Earth will continue to get worse and worse and eventually get to the point where it is unlivable. Basically, if this continues our Earth will be destroyed. Beyond just the cigarette, but the box that the cigarette comes in is also bad. "Even their packaging poses risks. Plastic cigarette filters are practically non-biodegradable and can leak chemicals as much as 10 years after they're discarded. An estimated 49.8 million kilograms of filters are thrown away in the United States alone each year" (Iacurci). Everything about cigarettes is bad for the environment, there is nothing good about them. If we don't want the Earth to die, then we need to do something differently about this littering problem. 

Beyond just smoking a cigarette and throwing it on the ground, the production of a cigarette also hurts the environment. "Tobacco fields are often planted in the rainforests of Tanzania, and this has resulted in major deforestation in the country" (Nathan). Deforestation is very bad for the Earth because it strips away natural forests. When deforestation occurs, all animals are either stripped from a home or are killed. In developing countries, where deforestation mainly occurs, they lose more than just trees, they also lose a source of food. The hunters within these developing countries don't have anything to hunt when there are no animals, resulting in no food. Because there is less food, especially meat, these developing countries are starving and continue to starve. Beyond that it makes it even harder for the developing countries to industrialize and modernize. This forces these countries to always be at a disadvantage all because of the deforestation for cigarette manufacturing.

In total, something needs to be done to change what is currently happening to everyone and the environment. One thing that can be done is making cigarettes and all tobacco products illegal. However, this could cause a lot mayhem and people may disagree with that decision, violently. When looking back during prohibition things were crazy and out of control. We don't want history to repeat itself with tobacco. However, things need to change. Too many people are dying from cigarettes. Some people are dying from cigarettes and they aren't even the ones smoking them. This is a problem. Smokers are killing people by smoking in public. If smoking was to become completely illegal there would be consequences. How bad would these consequences be and is it worth taking the risk to see the possible consequences? Instead of completely banning tobacco, I believe there needs to be heavier restrictions on smoking tobacco. 

One thing that could be done is making cigarettes more expensive. "Increases in cigarette prices lead to significant reductions in cigarette smoking. This is the single most effective way to reduce smoking. A 10% increase in price has been estimated to reduce overall cigarette consumption by 3 -- 5%. Research on cigarette consumption suggests that both youth and young adults are two to three times more likely to respond to increases in price than adults" (Smoking & Tobacco Use). By increasing the price, people will be less likely to buy them. Making them more expensive will make people think that they aren't worth buying and hopefully won't buy them, so less people will be smoking, making everyone and the environment healthier.

Currently, you must be 18 years or older to purchase tobacco products. Also, it is illegal for minors and pregnant women to smoke. Those are about all the laws on smoking. To avoid violence and outrage, we should not completely illegalize tobacco. I believe tobacco should be banned from public places because that way it will keep everyone and the environment safer. Parents wouldn't have to worry about smokers being at parks where their children could breathe in the smoke and be effected for the rest of their lives. Also, I believe instead of the legal limit being 18, you should be at least 25 to purchase tobacco products. I believe 25 is a reasonable age because by the time you are 25 your brain is fully developed and it can't be damaged as much as an under developed brain. By starting smoking later in life, that helps the smoker tremendously! It is harder to get addicted and there are less health effects, but the health effects are still there. There is still a lot of work in front of us to make this happen but by making some changes everyone and the Earth can be extremely healthier. 

