Criminalizing Tobacco
Cigarettes are the number one cause of death in the U.S. and yet they are still on the shelves. People know the damage tobacco does to the body, and yet they still continue to smoke, chew, and sniff it. Cigarettes and tobacco products needs to be criminalized. Smoking is the number one cause of cancer in the United States. About 50 million people smoke cigarettes in the United States. Cigarettes are made up of dried tobacco leaves and other things to make up for the flavor. Scientists have found up to 3,000 compounds in tobacco and cigarette smoke. With the total 3,000 compounds, there are about sixty carcinogens. There are a numerous amount of bad chemicals found in cigarettes. Here are just a list of few: Ammonia: Household cleaner, Agelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals Arsenic: Used in rat poisons Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas Cadmium: Used in batteries Cyanide: Deadly poison DDT: A banned insecticide Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals Lead: Poisonous in high doses Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens Methoprene: Insecticide Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984 Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element. All of these chemicals have taken a toll on current smokers, ex-smokers, and people exposed to second hand smoke. Of current smokers in the U.S., 384,000 have had a stroke from smoking, 46,000 have lung cancer from smoking, 358,000 have a cancer other than lung cancer from smoking, 1,273,000 have emphysema from smoking, and 2,633,000 have chronic bronchitis from smoking. Those facts are from current smokers and do not even include former smokers. The addicting drug in cigarettes is nicotine. It comes from the tobacco plant which grows mostly in