SHOULD CIGARETTES BE MADE ILLEGAL?

Scientific evidence that highlights the harmful effects of tobacco smoke underscores the various reasons why cigarettes should be made illegal. Health problems occasioned through smoking and the highly addictive nature of tobacco are part of the many examples societies use to encourage the total ban of cigarettes. Cigarette smoke contains carcinogenic substances that increase the risks of habitual smokers contracting lung and heart cancer. Cigarette smoking is also a negative social vice, which correlates with the prevalence of delinquency within modern societies. Societies continually face the challenge of banning cigarette smoking because of the high economic returns from tobacco production. Cigarettes should be banned since they affect human health and social development within modern societies.

 While cigarettes have a brief history that dates back to the pre-modern era, there is evidence to suggest that tobacco smoking may date as far back as 3000BC or earlier. Cigarettes are primarily manufactured from the tobacco plant but some variations have been developed from other plants with similar chemical properties. Cigarettes are ingested for the nicotine drug contained in tobacco leaves. Studies reveal that nicotine when ingested in small quantities helps relieve stress and improve mental cognition among both humans and animals. Some scientists equate its properties to that of caffeine found in tea and coffee. Unlike caffeine however, nicotine is highly addictive and dangerous if consumed in large amounts.

A recent social study by Michael Kean that correlated cigarette smoking and delinquency among American teens offered a unique way of understanding the risks posed by allowing cigarettes in society. The study identity of cigarette smoking as a precursor to teens ingesting stringer drugs such cocaine or heroin explains the general prevalence of drug trafficking bodies within developed societies, which profit from the high rate of drug addiction among teenagers. The study also noted some effects of cigarette smoking such as impaired mental cognition among teenagers, which explained poor performance in class and massive increase in school-dropouts. These teens generally adopt criminal activities to sustain their smoking.

The potency of cigarettes and arguably the key reason they should be banned comes from the addictive nature of nicotine. Studies conducted among habitual smokers indicate that nicotine leads to cigarette dependency among users. A recent research underscored nicotine as one of the world’s most potent drugs since ingesting less than 5mg of the substance can lead to irreversible addiction. The amount of nicotine contained in one cigarette is often small and poses minimal risks to first time users but sustained intake means that individuals are constantly exposed to more quantities of the drug. Effects of prolonged exposure to nicotine include depression and irritability, which are part of the many cognitive problems caused by cigarette dependence. Cigarettes are also bad since they contain other chemical compounds that negatively affect human health. Carcinogenic substances such as tar and cadmium contained in processed tobacco leaves are known to increase the risk of cancer among cigarette smokers.

Measures taken to improve the quality of cigarettes and make them safer have had a limited effect in reducing the intake of harmful substances through cigarettes. Cigarettes continue to increase the prevalence of lung and heart cancers among habitual smokers. Cigarette smoking also exposes people to excess nicotine, which affects brain functionality. Studies have also linked cigarette smoking to the increase of various social vices such as school-dropouts, teenage drug addiction, and social delinquency. Mitigating human health and social development problems created by tobacco use should begin with making cigarettes illegal within modern societies.