Photo Essay
by Kyle Nelson
Second hand smoke contains 7,000 chemicals including 70 cancer causing chemicals. When you smoke, the second hand smoke goes into other people’s faces and is worse for them than smoking the cigarette. People who smoke don’t care that others around them hate it. Every place needs to be smoke free or have designated smoking zones.
8.6 million people in the us have at least 1 serious illness that’s caused by smoking. Some people that smoke don’t realize what they are doing to their body. Smoking cause shortness of breath when you run or do any other form of exercise. If you’re an athlete, you shouldn't smoke.
Smoking is the cause of 1 and 5 deaths in the US annually. So this means that 20% of the deaths in America is due to smoking. If smoking was banned, then there would be less deaths due to smoking and less chance of getting a serious illness. Lung cancer rates would go down as well.
For every person that dies from a smoking related disease, 20 more suffer from at least 1 serious illness related to smoking. If a parent smokes around their kids or in the house, then everyone in that house can get a serious illness. If you feel like you have to smoke, then you should smoke outside.
In 2013, states collected $25.7 billion from tobacco taxes and legal settlements. Smoking is bad because when you get addicted, it controls you. You can’t stop smoking and it takes all of your money. Smoking has cause the taxes for cigarettes to go up to try and make it so that no one will want to buy them.
15% ($3.7 billion) of the $25.7 billion would fund every state tobacco control program. State taxes are used to help stop the sale of tobacco. I agree with it and I believe that tobacco should be illegal and have serious consequences if sold. If tobacco plants shut down, the government should supply the workers with a new job.
Every year, approximately 46,000 people die from heart disease that are current non-smokers. Second hand smoke has caused non-smokers to have heart attacks and/or cancer. This is why places need to have designated smoking areas so that people who don’t smoke don’t have to breathe in the harmful chemicals.
Smoking increases your risk of getting lung diseases like pneumonia, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Smoking can cause tar to build up and causes diseases and makes you really sick. When you get throat cancer, for the rest of your life, you’ll have a hole in your throat. With that hole, you won’t be able to talk clearly.
Male smokers lose 13.2 years of life and females lose 14.5 years of life. Smoking causes your life to become shorter. Smoking causes pre-maturing in kids and birth defects. Smoking causes wrinkles and you’ll lose your smooth skin.