The report also says that in places like New York, where there have been bans on smoking in public areas, there is a drop in disease rates related to smoking. However, the studies seem incomplete, in that, there is no concrete evidence that that bans alone are causing the decrease in the disease rates. Other societal and environmental factors could play some role as well. Despite that, I still think that there should be more restrictions on smoking, in general.
Although I realize that smoking is up to the individual, just like alcohol is, it should be put out eventually. Now, that opinion is somewhat biased, since I am very adamant about not smoking. The reason I am like this is because in my elementary school in Canada, a whole week was dedicated to learning about the dangers of smoking. The people who worked at a nearby health institute came to my elementary school and told us the terrible ingredients in a cigarette like tar and formaldehyde. They also had, on display, a healthy human lung and one damaged by years of smoking. What shocked me was that second hand smoke exposure is actually more dangerous to one's health than actually smoking a cigarette! This was because the filter on most cigarette actually abates some of the toxic chemicals that enter the system.
After this experience, I was very even more against smoking than I was before. I believe smoking is a one of the more dangerous health risks in the world today. Now, I realize that the US has a lot of other issues to deal with, regarding health, but maybe if they dedicate some time and effort into bringing more educational information about smoking into schools, the US' citizens will gradually grow old of their love for cigarettes. Now, if the world does this, maybe cigarettes can be gone for good. It's crazy to think that this will happen in the next fifty years, let alone the near future, but maybe eventually, this will become a smoke-free world.
-Henry Zhang
