Bans on Smoking

Cassandra Orheim
Bioethical Focus Paper

Bans on Smoking

Since 1964, 2.5 million nonsmokers have died from exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles that include more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that cause cancer. In children, secondhand smoke causes ear infections, asthma attacks, respiratory infections, and respiratory symptoms. In adults who have never smoked, secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. For nonsmokers breathing secondhand smoke has had harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk for heart attack. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their lung cancer risk by 20-30%. Exposure to secondhand smoke happens in homes, workplaces, vehicles, bars, casinos, etc. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, opening windows, and ventilating buildings does not eliminate secondhand smoke exposer. Although, some people argue banning smoking is an invasion of privacy, will put a damper on the economy, or claim that their rights being denied; eliminating smoking in indoor spaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from second hand smoke exposer. I would like to discuss the history of smoking , why states are creating smoking bans, health risks for smokers and nonsmokers, benefits of quitting smoking , and why people are against smoking bans.
Before 1492, tobacco was first used by the Columbian Americans who used it for ceremonial and medical purposes. Tobacco didn’t gain popularity until it was introduced to France in 1556. Jean Nicot gave tobacco seeds to Catherine de Medicis , the Queen of France . Plants grew from seeds, and were named Nicotine tabacur after Jean Nicot 's name; later the addictive substance was called nicotine. In 1612 , the first commercial tobacco crop was grown in Virginia . The first tobacco factories opened up to manufacture snuff in 1730 . One of the first investigations about the relationship between tobacco and disease concluded that malignancies of the respiratory tract could be traced to the use of snuff was done in 1761 . The American Revolution occurred in part because of “A Tobacco War” . Colonists objected to the taxes put on their tobacco products. Tobacco was also used as collateral during the American Revolution , which helped finance the French involvement. In 1864 , the first cigarette factory was built in the United States. By 1909, the smoking consumption grew especially among men. It became socially acceptable for women to smoke in 1945 . During World War II , The American Red Cross and other organizations distributed cigarettes to men and women in uniform . 1946 , was the golden age of advertising , and began promoting the use of cigarettes to the public . The “ Marlboro Man” ad was introduced by Phillip Morris , to promote the idea the men who smoke are more masculine.
Debate over the hazards and benefits of smoking has divided physicians, scientists, governments, smokers, and non-smokers since tobacco was first imported to Europe in the sixteenth century. An increase in smoking in the United States in the twentieth century called for anti-smoking movements. According to the article” Reports of the Surgeon General” “Reformers, hygienists, and public health officials argued that smoking brought about general malaise, physiological malfunction, and a decline in mental and physical efficiency. Evidence of the ill effects of smoking accumulated during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Epidemiologists used statistics and large-scale, long-term, case-control surveys to link the increase in lung cancer mortality to smoking. Pathologists and laboratory scientists confirmed the statistical relationship of smoking to lung cancer as well as to other serious diseases, such as bronchitis, emphysema, and coronary heart disease. Smoking, these studies suggested, and not air pollution, asbestos contamination, or radioactive materials, was the chief cause of the epidemic rise of lung cancer in the twentieth century.” On June 12th 1957 Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney declared that evidence pointed to a relationship between smoking and lung cancer. The official report on smoking came from an alliance of private health organizations. Meeting at the National Library of Medicine on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, from November 1962 through January 1964 the committee reviewed more than 7,000 scientific articles with the help of over 150 consultants. The report was issued on January 11, 1964. It was issued on a Saturday to minimize the effect on the stock market and to maximize coverage in the Sunday papers. It was front page news, and a lead story on every radio and television station in the United States. The report discussed health consequences of tobacco use. The report held cigarette smoking responsible for a 70 percent increase in the mortality rate of smokers over non-smokers. The report also named smoking as the most important cause of chronic bronchitis and pointed to a correlation between smoking and emphysema, and smoking and coronary heart disease. It noted that smoking during pregnancy reduced the average weight of newborns. After tobacco companies could no longer advertise in the broadcast media , but they still were allowed to advertise in magazines and newspapers. In 1987 , the US Congress banned smoking on airline flights of less than two hours. Mississippi was the first state to sue tobacco companies for the cost of health care associated with smoking related diseases. Other states followed. FDA announced in 1994 it could consider regulating nicotine in cigarettes as a drug in response to a citizen’s petition . In 1996 , scientists announced that they found a direct chemical link between a substance found in tobacco tar and the development of cancer .
“A smoking ban is a public policy that includes criminal laws and health regulations that prohibit smoking in certain public places and workspaces.” There are many reasons why smoking bans were created , but most of them are because of medical purposes. Many people see it as unfair that others have to suffer the effects of secondhand smoke when they are not able to make the decision for exposure to it . Smoking bans remove the risks for many people. Another reason for smoking bans is they improve air quality in restaurants and other establishments. The United States Congress has not attempted to enact any nationwide federal smoking ban. Smoking bans in the United States are entirely a product of state and local criminal and occupational safety and health laws. In 1995, California was the first state to enact a statewide smoking ban between 2004 and 2007; an increasing number of states enacted a statewide smoking ban of some kind.
More than 4,000 chemicals , including 200 poisons such as DDT, ammonia , arsenic , formaldehyde , and carbon monoxide , are found in tobacco. Some of these chemicals are native to the plant while others have been added to improve the odor and reduce the harshness of smoking. Sugars and honey have been added to cigarettes to sweeten their taste , while the ammonia speeds the absorption of nicotine into the bloodstream . Botanical additives are extracts derived from various plants and herbs used to enhance the flavor, but they also have pharmacological effects. Some of the pharmacological effect includes anesthetic, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties . These beneficial properties are lost once the herbs are burned and inhaled. There are over 19 known chemicals in cigarettes that cause cancer . The most prominent of these are found in two groups’ organic carcinogens and radioactive carcinogens. The following are just some of the harmful ingredients are found in cigarette smoke : cadmium causes teeth stains, hydrogen cyanide causes respiratory problems, carbon monoxide blocks oxygen in the blood, benzene causes drowsiness, headaches , nausea, naphthalene causes confusion, and arsenic causes prickly sensation in hands and feet. Benzopyrene is metabolized into another chemical and permanently attaches to DNA either killing the cell, or leading to genetic mutation; which transforms into a cancer cell. A cancer cell doesn’t reproduce and die naturally , but reproduces rapidly and will replace cells in a tissue or organ. Smoking temporarily raises your blood pressure, and increases the blood clotting likelihood. Smoking makes it more difficult to exercise. Smoking increases your risk of coronary heart disease , and strokes risks are higher too . The reason for this being smoking temporarily increases blood pressure, and also cholesterol build ups and the tendency for blood to clot . Smoking contributes to peripheral artery disease this again, is because of the added strain smoking places on the arteries and veins. Second hand smoke is a serious health risk for nonsmokers, but especially children because their bodies are still growing , and they breathe at a faster rate than adults. When you breathe in smoke that comes from end of a lit cigarette you’re inhaling almost the same amount of chemicals as the smoker. Second hand smoke promotes illness, children of smokers have many more respiratory infections than children of nonsmokers. Smoking during pregnancy is especially dangerous to the developing baby, and has been linked to premature delivery, low birth weight , SIDS, mental retardation , learning problems, and attention deficit disorder. Nonsmoking women exposed tobacco smoke are also more likely to have low birth weight babies . In 2006 , the surgeon’s general’s report confirmed that secondhand smoke can kill , and that there is no safe amount of exposure to secondhand smoke . Secondhand smoke exposure causes nearly 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the US each year. Secondhand smoke is also bad for your heart. Smoke exposure makes your blood platelets stickier, raises the level of artery clogging LDL , and damages the lining of your blood vessels . Eventually these changes can make you more likely to develop blockage that leads to a heart attack or stroke.
The immediate rewards of quitting smoking include breath smells better, stained teeth become whiter, bad smell in clothes and hair go away, yellow fingers and fingernails disappear, food tastes better, sense of smell returns to normal, and everyday activities no longer leave them out of breath . After 20 minutes of quitting your heart rate and blood pressure drop . Twelve hours after quitting the carbon monoxide level in your body drops to normal. Two weeks after quitting your circulation improves ,and your lung function increases. One to nine months after quitting coughing and shortness of breath decrease ; cilia start to regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs , and reduce the risk of infection . After one year of quitting the excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker’s . Five years after quitting risk of cancer is cut in half, and stroke risk can fall to that of a nonsmoker . Ten years after quitting the risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who still smokes. 15 years after quitting the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker.
Although there have been several positive effects on health and air quality many people are still against smoking bans in the United States . People against smoking bans see this as the government interfering with their lives. They look at the effects on smokers, rather than nonsmokers . They emphasize the rights of the property owner. People against smoking bans believe that outlawing smoking in the workplace will cause smokers to move their smoking elsewhere. Instead of smoking indoors they will just expose a new set of people to their secondhand smoke. Some argue that this will increase the number of DUI fatalities . Banning smoking in public will encourage people to smoke more at home. This will harm other people in their house, especially children. People against smoking bans also argue that bans will drive many bars out of business . Smokers would no longer go to these places, and business would also earn less money from selling tobacco.
Scientists agree that smoking is dangerous. Tobacco smoke can cause cancer, strokes , and heart disease. Smoking doesn’t just harm the smoker , but it also harms people near by . Smokers choose to smoke the people around them do not. People should only be exposed to smoke if they understand the risks and choose to accept them . A complete ban on smoking in public is needed to protect people from secondhand smoke . I think it is more important to protect people’s health than to protect business .

References
Azagba, S. (2013). The association between smoking bans and nicotine dependence: A longitudinal analysis of current smokers in canada. Addictive Behaviors, 38(12), 2817-2820.
Brant, A. M. (2007). The cigarette century. New York: Basic Books.
Chang, F. C. (2014). Impact of the 2009 taiwan tobacco hazards prevention act on smoking cessation. Addiction, 109(1), 140-146.
Hammond, K. S., & Yuan, Q. L. (2014). An assessment of health risks and mortality from exposure to secondhand smoke in chinese restaurants and bars. PLoS One, 9(1).
Herrick, C., & Mitchell, M. (2010). How to quit smoking. Mississauga: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Lopez, M. J. (2013). Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure in open and semi-open settings: A systematic review. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(7). Retrieved from Biological Abstracts database.
Pope, T. P. (2001). Cigarettes. New York: The New Press.

References: Azagba, S. (2013). The association between smoking bans and nicotine dependence: A longitudinal analysis of current smokers in canada. Addictive Behaviors, 38(12), 2817-2820. Brant, A. M. (2007). The cigarette century. New York: Basic Books. Chang, F. C. (2014). Impact of the 2009 taiwan tobacco hazards prevention act on smoking cessation. Addiction, 109(1), 140-146. Hammond, K. S., & Yuan, Q. L. (2014). An assessment of health risks and mortality from exposure to secondhand smoke in chinese restaurants and bars. PLoS One, 9(1). Herrick, C., & Mitchell, M. (2010). How to quit smoking. Mississauga: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Lopez, M. J. (2013). Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure in open and semi-open settings: A systematic review. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(7). Retrieved from Biological Abstracts database. Pope, T. P. (2001). Cigarettes. New York: The New Press.