Smoking is linked to numerous harmful health effects like cancer, heart disease, and stroke, with no benefits. It accounts for approximately 22% of cancer deaths. Banning cigarettes and other tobacco products could significantly improve public health and reduce costs to healthcare systems by preventing smoking-related diseases. Non-smokers are also at risk of negative health impacts from secondhand smoke exposure. College smoking rates are high, particularly among males, which could strain future healthcare resources if not addressed proactively through prevention methods like price increases, though cheaper alternatives limit the effectiveness of cessation. Cigarettes and tobacco should be outlawed and education programs instituted to help smokers quit given the health benefits of cessation.

1. Should cigarettes and other tobacco products be outlawed?
Smoking is linked with a number of harmful effects and with no benefits at all. It is a significant
factor in the development of cancer, heart disease and increased risk of stroke (Ellis, 1). In addition,
tobacco use accounts for approximately 22% of cancer deaths (Kudo, 1). The prevalence of cigarette
smoking has been reported as 20.8% in the United States and as 22% in the United Kingdom (Kabir,
2), meaning that a fifth of the population in these countries are at risk of serious disease and/or
death because of a lifestyle decision they voluntarily make. If smoking and other tobacco products
were outlawed, these people would be much healthier and the burden on health services
attributable to smoking-related diseases would be significantly reduced.
People that do not smoke themselves are also at risk through a process known as second hand
smoking. This is where cigarette smoke from others is breathed in by non-smokers and can have
equally deleterious effects in these individuals. One study even found that second hand smoking can
lead to mortality (Tachfouti, 2827), providing even more reason why tobacco should be outlawed.
The prevalence of tobacco smoking and substance abuse in college students, particular in males, was
found to be high (Kabir, 9). This is worrying because these people are all likely to experience the ill-
effects of smoking around the same time in the future – and this will place considerable strain on
healthcare budgets and resources. As such, preventative methods should be put in place as soon as
possible to avoid this scenario. Increases in the price of cigarettes has helped to reduce smoking
prevalence, however cheaper alternatives such as hand-rolling tobacco represent a barrier to
complete cessation (Rothwell, 1).
In conclusion, cigarettes and other tobacco products should be outlawed and smokers should be
guided through the process of giving up via the use of education programmes that highlight the
health benefits associated with smoking cessation.

2. List of works cited
Ellis, Lee. “Use of the Zebrafish Larvae as a Model to Study Cigarette Smoke Condensate Toxicity.”
PLOS ONE 9.12 (2014) 1–21. Print.
Kabir, Kourosh. “Tobacco Use and Substance Abuse in Students of Karaj Universities.” International
Journal of Preventive Medicine 7.105 (2016) 1–15. Print.
Kudo, Yasusei. “Oral environment and cancer.” Genes and environment 38 (2016) 1–6. Print.
Rothwell, Lucas. “The relation between cigarette price and hand-rolling tobacco consumption in the
UK: an ecological study.” British Medical Journal 5.6 (2015) 1–6. Print.
Tachfouti, Nabil. “Mortality Attributable to Second Hand Smoking in Morocco: 2012 Results of a
National Prevalence Based Study.” Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 17.6 (2016) 2827–32.
Print.