Ian Ewart Ian Ewart 1
Persuasive Writing
Dr. Miller
9/25/14
Public Hazard A hazard by definition is an unavoidable danger or risk, even though often foreseeable. Foreseeable is the key word in the definition for how a nation that will not advocate the risks of public smoking will reap its consequences. Everyone today is aware of the health risks from smoking, but the amount of people alerted to the health risks of public smoking is astonishingly small. Public health officials have stated that public smoking and secondhand smoking can cause lung disease and heart disease in non-smoking adults and children (Morris, Phillip. "Public Place Smoking Restrictions). Smoking in public should be restricted and removed to preserve the health of non-smoking adults and children. Tobacco is a health risk to say the least, but that does not mean its wrong. This essay is in no manner trying to persuade the reader that people who smoke cigarettes are morally unjust. What needs to be taken from the discussion of smoking in public places is the risk it puts on others. Tobacco is the leading cause for cancer in almost every part of the body. Furthermore tobacco related deaths account for nearly 480,000 each year (centerfordiseaseprevention.com). Although, most people today are educated on the risks; people who decide to smoke are reminded every time they pull out a cigarette, by a health warning stamped on the box. This should put the leaders of our national governments on the spot and Ian Ewart 2 demand why the public is only attentive to the information on the self -risks of smoking and not the public health risks. The nation needs to have a better understanding about the health risks of secondhand smoking and its effects on others. As unappealing the topic of health risks are, they must be known. Secondhand smoke is an assimilation of the smoke exhaled by the smoker and the smoke that leaves the butt of the cigarette. The smoke exhaled by the smoker holds more than 7,000 chemicals. Over hundreds of them being poisonous and toxic in nature, and 70 of them verified as causes of cancer (WebMD). The chemicals found in cigarettes are nothing short of lethal. Carbon monoxide found in car exhaust is an active element of cigarettes. Lead once found toxic in paint is an ingredient found in cigarettes. Last but not least, Cadmium: an important role found in battery fluid is incorporated in cigarettes (Secondhand Smoke). Men and women across the world are indeed aware of these horrific facts. Many of who wisely choose to avoid the danger of smoking, are still put at risk. Worse still; secondhand smoking most largely affects pregnant women, babies, and children. Smoking is a loophole in the old saying “everything in moderation is okay”. A survey in 2013 measured that 10% of women smoked during their pregnancy and 55% of women were exposed to secondhand smoke (WHO). This is astonishing to think that 55% of women during pregnancies are exposed to public smoking. The effects of secondhand smoke on a baby are at their most dangerous. First of all, smoking makes it more complicated for women to get pregnant. Mothers who are Ian Ewart 3 exposed to smoking or smoke themselves are already insuring that their baby will have a lower birth weight than expected. Furthermore the baby will be put at an even higher risk for bronchitis and pneumonia, asthma, repertory illness, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (The Community Guide). The list is far longer but the effects do not decrease in severity. Secondhand smoke is prevalent everywhere. Therefore since smoking is everywhere the risk of smoking is found anywhere in public. Restrictions need to be put in place soon before it affects everyone. It is true that some people have a more acute sensitivity to smoke than others. I have had allergies my whole life. What sets off my allergies are most commonly scents. My nose will become congested and my head throbbing with pain