Argumentative Essay: Banning The Cancer Stick

Banning the Cancer Stick The cigarette is the deadliest artifact in the history of human civilization. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States.” Even with such high numbers people continue to smoke. BeTobaccoFree.gov states, “With every cigarette comes ingesting more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of those are toxic, and 70 are known to cause cancer.” The tobacco industry is a leading monopoly in the world’s economy contributing to all the deaths of those who use their products. According to tabaccoatlas.org, “Business of tobacco is global, and each part of the tobacco business contributes to the multi-billion-dollar industry.” Knowing

For smoking is an addiction and once the addiction has latched on to the user they can not stop, and if they do the withdrawals will attack. Smokefree.gov list withdrawals including, “Being sad, trouble sleeping, grouchy, unclear thoughts, slower heart ratee, and being jumpy.” I have honestly seen these withdrawals in person through my work and they can be very disturbing. Doctor Green from BAT states, “Cigarettes are an addictive drug and large numbers of people will continue to smoke because they can not give it up. If they could then they would.” (British American Tobacco) For it is not truly the act of smoking that makes the product so addictive, but is the 7,000 chemical and the effects they have on the human body. Research has compared the use of tobacco products to be the same as the addiction to heroin and cocaine. RJ Reynolds which was a CEO of a U.S. tobacco industry was asked by the Congressional Health and Environment Subcommittee if nicotine was addictive? Reynolds responded, “I believe that nicotine is not addictive.” Well Reynolds ex-Chief executive Ross Johnson stepped down from the company and was asked the same question his response was different. Johnson responded, “Of course nicotine is addictive that is why you smoke the stuff.” The industry wants to hide behind lies only to better themselves for the sake of the profit. Smokers know the risk that come with smoking. They recognize that quitting is the best alternative, but due to the addiction the body reacts in a harsh manner. All the websites and outreach programs are there to help those who suffer from nicotine addiction, but the fact of the matter is it is an addiction though the industry says otherwise. Tobacco companies have considered creating a safer form of product, but in doing so they release the secrete that has made them billions of dollars. That is there product is not