Unintended Consequences There are numerous unintended consequences that develop as a result of making tobacco illegal in a society. Everyone who uses tobacco has their own personal reason as to why they use it. This makes it difficult for tobacco to be labeled as "good" or "bad" because we all have our own opinions. By removing tobacco from a society, we are doing much more than physically removing it, we are also creating many unintended consequences that may not be obvious to most people. Effects on Humans People who use tobacco have many reasons why they use it. Some of the reasons revolve around using tobacco as an outlet to release stress, a coping mechanism, and a way to take a break from society. But over time, as one keeps …show more content…
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine have tested the effects that tobacco has on animals. They found out that environmental smoke may increase the risk of nasal and lung cancer in dogs. Also, they discovered that cats who live with people who smoke are more than twice as likely to suffer from feline lymphoma (PETA, 1999). These are some pretty horrible unintentional health conditions that these animals can get from their owners smoking. Functionalism The idea of functionalism is that society is a system of parts that work together to maintain stability and social equilibrium of the whole society. Tobacco plays a different role in everyone 's lives, but not everyone supports tobacco. If tobacco were to be removed from a society there would be a societal consensus about using tobacco. This would cause people to not use tobacco and therefore there would be established behavioral expectations amongst a society. Conclusion In a society without tobacco, there are many unintended consequences that should be considered. By removing tobacco, there are both negative and postive effects that can