Effects of Cigarette Smoking – Persuasive Essay
Title: The effects of smoking have been exaggeratedIn my essay I explain the effects of smoking and put forward the theory that the effects of smoking have been exaggerated and link this to the scientific evidence that no deaths have ever occurred because of second-hand smoke. The effects of smoking have been exaggerated because lobby groups want smoking to be banned completely. They wish to impose their will on the nation and are achieving this goal through outright lies and scare tactics. They are using the fears of the American public to push their agenda and it is working.
Smoking tobacco does have negative effects and does increase the chances of illness, but over eating kills more people in America than smoking ever has since its invention, and yet there are not bans on fatty foods. People are not told to eat fatty foods outside and people are happy to give them free healthcare and give them disabled benefits if they are morbidly obese. There are too many smokers in this world to assume that it is a truly deadly habit. If this were the case, then there would not be so many people in their late 80s that have smoked all their lives. People that smoke would surely die considerably early and yet a massive amount of people live well into their 80s despite spending most of their life smoking. There has never been any real and scientifically proven evidence that second hand smoking kills people.
Cases of lung cancer that are supposedly linked to second-hand smoke seem to have left out the harmful effects of other smoke in our atmosphere, airborne toxins, vehicle fumes, asbestos, unsanitary conditions, mold spores, smog and air pollution. People jump to the conclusion that lung cancer is caused by smoking–when lung cancer may strike anyone. Plus, lung cancer has hundreds of causes, many of which are in our atmosphere and homes right now, so to assume that lung cancer is due to second hand smoke is specious at best–and outright moronic at worst. Anti-smoking groups have done such a good job at scaring the general public that smokers are now discriminated against in a massive way. They are made to sit outside and smoke instead of having rooms made for smoking, and they are treated with disdain by doctors and people in our society.
Can you imagine the uproar if tomorrow we started having African American people sitting outside instead of inside and if they were treated with disdain by doctors and people in our society?ConclusionThere is no link between secondhand smoke and deadly disease. Assuming that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer is holding back medical progress. They are blurring the issue and lowering the amount of research that goes into the harmful effects of other smoke in our atmosphere, airborne toxins, vehicle fumes, asbestos, unsanitary conditions, mold spores, smog and air pollution. One likes to assume that people are reasonable, but one cannot ignore empirical evidence. If lobby groups are going to claim that smoking is a death sentence, then they need to explain how so many people are able to smoke without ever getting ill and are able to smoke and live into and past the age of 80.
