DuGas 1

Paige DuGas
Professor Jackson
ENGL-1302
March 26, 2017
Thinking of Smoking?
Todays fads have since changed from the 40s, the idea of being youthful and healthy has

now become the rage within the last five years. With almost 500,000 people dying in 2015 from

smoking, how healthy are the American people? And with the knowledge of knowing that

hundreds of thousands of people die every year, why does the law still allow public smoking?
Public smoking does not just affect the person making the choice to smoke, but the people

around them that have made the choice to not smoke. The effects of being exposed to second

hand smoking can cause health issues, brings appeals to the youth, and lasts for years after the

cancer stick is put out.

Many health problems are associated with being exposed to smoke. One of the many

conditions that can develop from second hand smoke is asthma, a condition which constricts the

airways to the lungs. Smoke has thousands of different toxic chemicals, particles and the residue

from the smoker who breathed it out. When a person is exposed to the second hand smoke they

are breathing it all in and it becomes an irritant to the airways, causing chronic diseases. Asthma

is not the only effect of breathing in second hand smoke; many others causes are cancer, ear

problems, respiratory infections, and cardiovascular issues like coronary heart disease, blood

platelet issues and a host of others. People exposed to smoke do not ask for the medical

conditions that effect their lives in such a way so why allow for others to make choices for

people that cannot even make the healthy choice for themselves.
Not only does secondhand smoke cause medical problems but it also reveals a light to the

cancer stick to the youth. When growing up, children are very observant of their parents and

older influences and the saying you are who you hang out with goes hand in hand. It has been

studied that children that grow up in a smoking household are more likely to become a smoker in
 DuGas 2

the future. My own parents are smokers and I had no real idea of what smoking was till I saw my

parents smoking or even a desire to do it till I saw my parent. For kids being exposed to smoking

their whole life, they are exposed to the idea that it is okay and there are no consequence because

on the outside their superior has no physical consequences that they are able to see. Not only

having children physically see a person smoking cause a desire to smoke but it also causes the

youth to be exposed to the secondhand smoke as well. Childrens goals in life are not to become

smoker and rely on a piece of cancer to make them feel a certain way, they want to dream of

being a princess or a football player. Why expose them to something so harmful that can cause

them an earlier death?

Besides medical problems and how it will affect the future lives of America, secondhand

smoke also effects the buildings and places around them. Have you ever been in a restaurant and

the hostess asks if you wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section? Smoking causes for

the particles and chemicals to be absorbed in the sheetrock and continuously smell long after a

person finishes. The smoke that is absorbed into the sheetrock can cause faster deterioration of

the walls, as well as, creating a higher toxic environment for the people and children around

them. So even when a family chooses to be seated in the non-smoking section they are still

breathing in secondhand smoke because it is now in the walls and furniture. These families are

not choosing to be exposed to the chemicals that are in the walls left by smoker, however, they

are still subjected to the long term effects that smoking causes.
Not only have people that smoke suffer from the judgmental looks that the public can

give, but the people around them will then be judged. In this capricious society that we live in

today, people are judged by not only your own actions and smells but the ones that people around

you do and smell like. When people that are exposed to cigarette smoke, they can begin to smell

like a smoker as well. The smell is able to be transferable through clothing and it is something
 DuGas 3

that is terribly hard to get rid of. Trying to wash everything in a highly floral smelling detergent,

cannot work for everything or for a very long time. The smell of being associated with a smoker

can be very unappealing to many Americans now a days; that is why the innocent people that are

standing in public should not be subjected to the judgments that come with smelling like a

smoker.
Even though people will argue about how it is America and as an American citizen, they

are able to have the power have freedom but this is not only just effecting their body and life but

also others around them. People have the power to make choices for themselves and the right to

not allow for people to make health decisions for them. Public smoking leads to the exposure of

secondhand smoke causing the multiple medical problems, and the judgements from others in

society today.
The idea that is the persons choice to be there or not does seem like the right idea when

thinking in a narrow minded way. People are not making the choice to smoke and they do not

want to be exposed to the harm and effects of smoking brings. That is why there needs to be a

law set in place to ban public smoking everywhere. There should be people that choose to not

smoke to have a choice on if they feel be subjected to endure secondhand smoking is worth their

health, their childrens health, and their own reputation.

Smoking use to the thing to do, a way to pass time, however, after the trend of smoking

has worn off, the effects of what has caused to not only the smoker its self, but the ones around

that are being effected. That is why smoking does not just effect the person making the choice to

light the smoke, but the others around them. With the resent mile stones the medical field has

made, the public has been better taught the effects of smoking, yet, the thing forgotten about is

the effects of secondhand smoking. Secondhand smoking not only causes just as detrimental

medical issues in the future, expose the youth so such toxic chemicals, but to also the places and

people around them. With such a wide reach in people and things it effects, why allow public
 DuGas 4

smoking? Think about this the next time you stand next to someone smoking, or if you are the

one smoking, what youre doing to the other around you.

 DuGas 5

Work Cited
Bans on smoking at outdoor venues are on the rise even though few studies have been done to

test the danger of secondhand smoke at parks, beaches and sidewalk cafes.. Associated

Press, 2013. Associated Press Video Collection. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.

Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.

Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-

causes/tobacco-and-cancer/secondhand-smoke.html. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Kleier, Jo Ann. "Children's Exposure to Secondhand Smoke, Parental Nicotine Dependence, and

Motivation to Quit Smoking." Pediatric Nursing, vol. 43, no. 1, Jan/Feb2017, pp. 35-39.

EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=tfh&AN=121353602&site=ehost-live. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

Wei, Binnian, et al. "Temporal Trends of Secondhand Smoke Exposure: Nonsmoking Workers in

the United States (NHANES 2001-2010)." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 124,

no. 10, Oct. 2016, pp. 1568-1574. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1289/EHP165. Accessed 17 Mar.

2017.
Wilson, Karen M., et al. Tobacco-Smoke Exposure in Children Who Live in Multiunit

Housing. Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 7 Dec. 2010,

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2010/12/13/peds.2010-2046?

sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-

000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3A%2BNo%2Blocal%2Btoken. Accessed

20 Mar. 2017.