"I stumbled out of the building, coughing and wheezing, smoke filling my eyes and lungs. I fumble frantically at my shirt buttons to loosen my collar, my head clouded as I ran out the door. I needed fresh air.
Was it a fire?... A terrorist attack perhaps?
No, I was simply eating my dinner at a restaurant when a gentleman at the table nearest to me decided to light up a cigarette. The smoke went right into my face and lungs. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe, my chest hurt and I panicked.
My fellow peers and teacher, by the end of this very year, more people will die from secondhand smoke related deaths almost six times as many people will die from road accidents, suicide, murder, manslaughter, poisoning, drug overdose and HIV combined. Secondhand, or passive smoke, is an insidious killer that is harming adults, and more critically, children around the country every day.
My objective in speaking to you all this morning is to encourage your support in a permanent ban of smoking from all public places.
Today, I will firstly be talking about the ways that we can improve our health standards, protect our future generation and lastly posiblilly reduce the amount of smokers in Australia for the benefit of everyone.
But isn't Australia a free country? Shouldn't I have the right to smoke? If I want to pollute my lungs and ruin my health, why should that be any concern of yours?
Well lets begin with the fact is that secondhand smoking can be dangerous not only for the smoker, but also for those around the smoker. According to the Manitoba Medical Association. Tabasco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, 50 of which are known to be cancer-related. Secondhand smoke has been linked to heart and respiratory diseases as well as cancers relating to the lung, breast, cervical, and nasal. And our further generations?
When a pregnant woman breathes in smoke, chemicals can pass through her lungs and into the bloodstream. Nicotine, carbon monoxide and other chemicals can cross the placenta affecting her unborn child. Children are especially vulnerable to second hand smoke and can easily die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or develop serious health problems.
Furthermore, implementing the permanent ban would make it more difficult for smokers to find suitable places. This would be advantageous as it would make it difficult for smokers to keep up with their habit. This would be likely to influence someone to consider quitting, or at least to smoke less frequently. When a smoking ban in public was introduced in England in 2004, after 9 months there was a fall of 5.5% of the number of smokers in the country, compared to the 1.1% fall before the ban. This demonstrates only one of the