Why is it, that tobacco companies were banned from advertising their products on television, and there is a warning on every package of cigarettes that smoking kills, that an extremely high percentage of people willingly smoke? Do the people of America not see the commercials, the television specials, the newspaper articles, and radio commercials reporting the dangers of lung cancer, and all of the other sickly conditions it causes? Can the blind public not see what is right in front of their faces?
I sympathize with those trying to quit. They see what is really going on here. However, this doesn't compensate for those who simply do not care about their health and the wellbeing of those around them. The public needs to wake up and see that no one benefits to this disgusting habit, accept the already rich tobacco companies.
It is a fact that around the world, cigarettes cause 3,500,000 deaths each year, approximately 419,000 of those deaths are to people here in America. 50,000 deaths in America are attributed to nonsmokers subjected to second hand smoke. This means that throughout a year, every 10 seconds someone dies as a result of cigarettes. Through research, I found that cigarettes happen to kill more people than illegal drugs, alcohol, murder, car accidents, fires, suicide, and AIDS combined.
You would think that maybe people would get a clue. It would be so easy to prevent this; it would be easy to just stop these 3.5 million deaths a year; it would be easy if the obviously informed public would stop denying the fact that smoking is distasteful and dangerous!
The government won't even make cigarette smoking illegal, like Marijuana and Cocaine. If our own legal system will not outlaw this, how can they expect the public to realize that it is a dirty and unhealthy tendency that should be halted immediately?
Maybe some do not know all of the dangerous toxins they are inhaling willingly with every cigarette. Nicotine is an active ingredient in many bug sprays; cyanide is the deadly ingredient in rat poison; formaldehyde is a foul-smelling preservative commonly used in keeping dead organisms from rotting; ammonia is a poisonous gas and cleaning agent used for toilets; arsenic is a potent ant poison; methanol is used as a jet engine and rocket fuel; cadmium is found in car batteries; butane is a flammable chemical in lighter fluid; acetone is a poisonous solvent and paint stripper; toluene is a poisonous industrial solvent; Plonium-210 is a highly radioactive element; Carbon Monoxide is an extremely poisonous gas found in auto exhaust; benzene is the poisonous toxin that, in trace amount, forced the global Perrier water recall. Each of these ingredients, plus more, are indeed included in every cigarette.
As I write this, there is an individual downstairs smoking a pack of cigarettes, leaving an utterly revolting odor to seep through my closed door and into my room. Do I not have a right to detest this? I should think not. But in the end, no matter how much I despise the sickening act, it is that individual's choice. It is their life, and not for me to judge or dictate.
It is a commonly heard conversation that quitting is not easy; I can only imagine that it is, seeing how Nicotine is an addictive drug. Nevertheless, it is not impossible. I know many people who have successfully discontinued smoking. There are really only two barriers that stand between smokers and their goal of quitting. This first obstacle is money, which I will talk more about later. The second, and most seemingly apparent is the will of the person. Hearing about the negative effects of smoking cigarettes evidently is not enough. The individual smoker must come to realize that it is unpleasant and is only hurting them. Nervousness, stress, and boredom: these are three ordinarily perceived reasons for smokers. People believe that smoking calms and relaxes their mind. Can they not see the other alternatives, that are by far much more safe and productive? Hobbies can compensate for dullness; learn how to do something new, like how to build a spice rack. Stress can simply be relieved by just stopping, breathing in some fresh air (instead nicotine for a change), and then taking a break to do something with friends, something besides smoking. Uneasiness cannot be solved by smoking; the situations you get in can never be solved by lighting a cigarette. Instead, just stop and think about other ways to conquer your agitation. Some people call cigarettes an unhealthy healing. In actuality, smoking cannot heal near as much as one's own creativity and knowledge can.
As I said earlier, improper funds could be the problem for some trying to quit. The gum, the patch, and the pill: all of these items that are actually scientifically proven to help individuals stop smoking, all cost an extremely abundant amount of money. Some may believe they have better things to spend their money on, which sadly, may include cigarettes. The reason these nicotine supplements are so expensive is the general public! Or, maybe it's the researchers view of the public. There is gladly a high demand for these anti-smoking products, but instead of for once just caring about another human being's problem, companies see an opportunity to make some money. I believe that today's entire workforce is driven by money, and the want for more of it. The price of that nicotine patch, pill, and gum could go way down; everyone knows that the manufactures price to the distributors and all the middlemen that receive the product before the consumer is considerably different than the price that the public is forced to pay. Why must companies strive only for profit and not the welfare of its buyers?
Aside from the strong efforts of non-smoking organizations, a huge portion of America still smokes, and many groups encourage and market these deadly, yet legal drugs.
