Civil Liberties And The Adverse Effects Of Second Hand Smoking

Smoking tobacco below the age of 18 is illegal and is often punishable by heavy fines and extraordinarily severe court appearances, yet children are often exposed to smoking and tobacco on a daily basis with no intervention by the law. Tobacco contains a mix of 70 cancer-causing chemicals, and these chemicals can be transferred through second hand smoke, which is especially prevalent in the home. These kids, ultimately, have no say in the exposure to this second hand smoke, yet an ongoing debate between civil liberties and the adverse effects of secondhand smoke on children causes this debate to persist with no clear action taken (“Smoking & Tobacco Use”). For the sake of youth, smoking should be banned within all households where children

To begin, second hand smoke often places stresses on the body, which can lead to harmful short-term effects. The largest populations of people who are exposed to second hand smoke in the world are children, as they often live with parents who are lifetime smokers. For example over 40% of children younger than the age of five years old live with an individual who smokes, which is an extraordinary number, as the brains and bodies of children of these ages are still growing and can be severely damaged through exposure to tobacco (Jarvie, Malone). Children are also three times more likely to live with a person who smokes than adults are, which is unjust, as they have no say in where they live (“Smoking & Tobacco Use”). Furthermore, children who are exposed to second hand smoke are at a higher risk to develop respiratory illness and ailments. Some examples of these illnesses are coughing, asthma, and wheezing. These effects may seem rather insignificant, yet they greatly reduce the quality of life for these children. These short-term effects can also be more severe in nature and often demand medical care and hospital visits. This is the case as children

This would strip the United States of billions of dollars in tax revenue, which are often put toward health care and welfare programs. In 2010 alone, tobacco raised 17.1 billion dollars in tax revenue. If smoking in the home were to be banned, this tax would, essentially, go to down zero, which would leave a hole in revenue flow of the government. This is disturbing as the United States government needs as much taxes as they can get, so they can maintain governmental organizations and programs (Cole). While the banning of smoking would drastically decrease tax revenue, health care costs associated with illnesses caused by second hand smoke more than outweigh this tax revenue. For this reason, banning smoking tobacco in the home is a double-edged sword. Medical costs from emergency room visits due to second hand smoke exposure in children is an outstanding 4.6 billion dollars per year. In reality, the true medical cost of smoking cigarettes is much greater than this, because this statistic does not include medical costs associated with long-term or chronic illnesses from tobacco, and does not include adults. Smoking cigarettes also leads to the creation of long-term illnesses, such as cancers. Cancers take millions of dollars to treat as they are arduous to get rid of, and they also recur in many cases (Jarvie). As shown, costs associated with smoking more than