Coughing up

Every time you light up you’re bringing more and more suffering to your body. It’s not a shocker that people die from smoking cigarettes; it warns you on the label! Why would tobacco companies sell these death devices called cigarettes containing shocking elements like rat poison and urea, aka urine? From an early age all children are taught the about the harmful nature of cigarettes and second-hand smoke. Why waste our time informing children about smoking when we can simply ban it all together? Cigarettes cause nothing but problems for individuals; therefore, they should be banned from the United States.
It is a pretty common fact that smoking is terrible for your body, but there are many facts that everyday people don’t know. For example, The American Cancer Society states that, “Tobacco causes up to 400,000 deaths each year more than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires combined” (Dixon 1). Why on earth would our government allow tobacco companies to continue selling cigarettes when they are clearly a serious problem? Not only does smoking effect men, it also hurts women. According to Truth, a nonprofit antidrug informational company, “About 90% of all lung cancer deaths among U.S. women smokers are caused by smoking” (“FACTory” 1). Along with that, “A 1985 study found that women smokers were 3.4 times more likely than nonsmokers to take a year or longer to conceive a desired child” (Cook 65). Also, the youth of our nation are sometimes pressured to smoke. According to The American Cancer, “Up to 90% of smokers begin when they are below the age of 18, often due to peer pressure” (Dixon 1). So no matter if you’re a man, woman, or child, cigarette smoke can destroy your life.
Not only are cigarettes harmful to the body they can also be pretty rough to the wallet. Truth states, “In 2002, U.S. consumers spent about $88.2 billion on tobacco products” (“FACTory” 1). That sounds a little more than a bad habit. Say that your making minimum wage, do you really think a pack a day (costing anywhere from three to five dollars) is going to help you? It’s pretty stupid to throw away hundreds of dollars on a habit that will eventually kill you. Tobacco companies, according to Truth, “spent $13.11 billion in 2005 on advertising and promotions” (“FACTory” 1). These advertisements are also occasionally based towards youth. Truth states, “In 1974, a tobacco company explored targeting customers as young as 14” (“FACTory” 1).
Others, that oppose banning cigarettes, say that tobacco taxes help our government. It is true that tobacco tax is a very large contributor to our government’s tax revenue, but if these taxes are taking millions of lives then I’m sure that we can find other ways to get tax money. Some ways of getting more tax money could be higher gas, food, travel, and income taxes. Most people would probably not want to pay more taxes, but if they knew that this way would save millions of lives most would adapt.
Cigarettes cause nothing but problems for individuals; therefore, hey should be banned from the United States. They can ruin people of all age’s lives and burn a hole into anyone’s pocket. Any sensible person would realize that smoking is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with now. With all the facts right in front of you, what’s the point in smoking?

Work Cited:

Cook, Paddy S. Alcohol, Tobacco, And Other Drugs May Harm The Unborn.
Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1990.

Dixon, Thomas. “Smoking.” International debate education association. 4 July
2000. 5 Nov. 2008 <http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicid=16>.

“FACTory.” Truth. 5 Nov. 2008 <http://www.thetruth.com/facts/facts.cfm>.

*EasyBib.com (used to set these cites up)