“A cigarette is a pipe with a fire at one end and a fool at the other” Although grammatically this quote is an opinion, realistically it stands as a fact. Smoking can lead to a variety of fatal diseases including: lung cancer, chronic lung disease, strokes, coronary heart disease, along with other cancers as well . Cigarettes contain a variety of approximately 4000 chemicals, hundreds of which are highly toxic to the human body Considering the danger the highly addictive habit brings, it is vital that smoking cigarettes be made illegal in protecting the health of humanity.

Cigarettes’ addictive quality stands as one of the many reasons that they should be made illegal. Nicotine is a drug used in cigarettes that sparks the start of a problematic addiction. The first stage of an addiction is known as dependence, whereas the addict is driven to attain the drug of which they are addicted to, or in this case smoking. Just the search for a drug can dominate one’s life and forces them to go to no end until it is in their possession. Inevitably, if an addict does not acquire the drug, both physical and psychological symptoms will occur. As time passes, an individual that has become addicted to a drug, develops tolerance, in which the person in compelled to consume larger doses in order to have the same effect. Eventually, an addict to smoking is unable to go about their day without having the 5-15 minute company of multiple cigarettes. An addiction also takes a drastic toll on someone’s focus. For example, if one had not smoked that day, their mind would be entirely focused on the desire for a cigarette as opposed to anything else, let alone something important. Ultimately, an addiction affects every aspect of an individual’s life and stands as a clear reason to make smoking illegal in the United States.

Along with its addictive quality, cigarettes are the epitome of an abomination to one’s health. The “smoker’s cough,” one of many conditions led on by cigarettes, is where the ammonia in the cigarette paralyzes the cilia in the trachea, causing tar and phlegm to drop to the bottom of the lungs; this creates an unpleasant, dry, constant, and hacking cough . Cigarettes are responsible for a higher risk of strokes and heart attacks, due to blockages of the blood supply. The effects of tobacco smoke on the immune system include a lower level of protective antioxidants in the blood, such as Vitamin C. Smoking cigarettes make a large impact on the human body including: reduced ability to smell and taste, premature wrinkles, the staining an increased risk of blindness, and periodontitis (Gum disease) The risk for lung cancer is a primary reason to avoid smoking a cigarette. It is the number one “cancer killer” in the United States and causes more deaths than the three most common cancers combined (colon, breast, and prostate). Approximately 160,340 Americans were anticipated to die from this horrific cancer in the year 2012, accounting for 28% of all cancer deaths . The variety of health hazards in the hands of a smoker are undeniably a major motive in making smoking illegal.

While the health of the smoker himself is in jeopardy, the health, let alone lives of others in the presence of a smoker are very much at risk as well. Environmental tobacco smoke is known as secondhand smoke or SHS. When nonsmokers inhale SHS, they take in an abundance of nicotine and many of the toxic chemicals that are contained in a single cigarette. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, classify secondhand smoking as a “known human carcinogen,” or simply a cancer-causing agent. Each year in America, secondhand smoke is responsible for approximately 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are current nonsmokers. The influence secondhand smoke has on a household plays a huge roll in an innocent child’s life. Parents who are smoking cause their children wheezing, coughing, bronchitis, pneumonia, and slow lung growth . Also, children look up to their parents as role models; if a child is exposed to constant cigarette smoking, they are most likely going to smoke cigarettes as they age and adopt the habit their parents presented in front of their eyes. Overall, smoking a cigarette can be described as a selfish, inconsiderate act; it is neither justice nor fair for nonsmokers to have to endure the health hazards inflicted upon them by smokers.

There are a variety of reasons why smoking cigarettes should be made illegal in the
United States. Smoking cigarettes can trigger an extreme addiction, cause harm to the smoker’s health, and would additionally harm the health of non-smokers. If cigarettes were to become illegal, there would be a drastic, vital decrease in the amount of deaths in our country and would ultimately benefit everyone as a whole.