Should Tobacco Be Illegal
Should Tobacco be Illegal
Tobacco is deeply ingrained into the roots of America and is a very addictive and
deadly force. Since the success of the first commercial crop in 1612, tobacco has been
raking in billions of dollars annually.(CNN) Even today tobacco is one of the largest
exports in the world despite the staggering number of deaths that it causes each year. So
why is it that tobacco is still legal? I feel we should just get rid of it completely, but it
isn’t that easy. Some people think that if we were to ban tobacco, the market would
crash. Others feel illegalizing it wouldn’t be right because it should be up to individual
whether or not they want to use tobacco.
Ancient Mayans used tobacco as medicine and during their religious ceremonies.
Christopher Columbus was the one who brought tobacco to Europe, but it didn’t catch on
until the 1500s. Consumption was done through pipe smoking, chewing, snuff, and hand
rolled cigarettes. Cigars didn’t become popular until the early 1800s and tobacco wasn’t
popular in the united states until after the civil war. The sale of cigarettes skyrocketed
with the invention of the first cigarette making machine in the late 1800s.(CNN)
The ill affects of smoking weren’t completely know until the 1900s. And even in
1944 the American Cancer Society were just cautioning people of the “possible” health
risks in smoking, but there was no hard evidence.(CNN) Cigarettes have about 600
different chemicals, all of which were approved by the FDA as food additives. The thing
is though, these additives were never tested by smoking them.(When you burn something
a chemical change occurs.) Of the 4,000 chemical compounds found in the smoke of a
cigarette, a majority are cancer causing agents. Nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic,
benzyl alcohol, ammonia and caffeine are all found in cigarette smoke.
Both smoking and chewing can cause
Tobacco is deeply ingrained into the roots of America and is a very addictive and
deadly force. Since the success of the first commercial crop in 1612, tobacco has been
raking in billions of dollars annually.(CNN) Even today tobacco is one of the largest
exports in the world despite the staggering number of deaths that it causes each year. So
why is it that tobacco is still legal? I feel we should just get rid of it completely, but it
isn’t that easy. Some people think that if we were to ban tobacco, the market would
crash. Others feel illegalizing it wouldn’t be right because it should be up to individual
whether or not they want to use tobacco.
Ancient Mayans used tobacco as medicine and during their religious ceremonies.
Christopher Columbus was the one who brought tobacco to Europe, but it didn’t catch on
until the 1500s. Consumption was done through pipe smoking, chewing, snuff, and hand
rolled cigarettes. Cigars didn’t become popular until the early 1800s and tobacco wasn’t
popular in the united states until after the civil war. The sale of cigarettes skyrocketed
with the invention of the first cigarette making machine in the late 1800s.(CNN)
The ill affects of smoking weren’t completely know until the 1900s. And even in
1944 the American Cancer Society were just cautioning people of the “possible” health
risks in smoking, but there was no hard evidence.(CNN) Cigarettes have about 600
different chemicals, all of which were approved by the FDA as food additives. The thing
is though, these additives were never tested by smoking them.(When you burn something
a chemical change occurs.) Of the 4,000 chemical compounds found in the smoke of a
cigarette, a majority are cancer causing agents. Nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic,
benzyl alcohol, ammonia and caffeine are all found in cigarette smoke.
Both smoking and chewing can cause
Cited: Warner, Kenneth E., “Tobacco”, N.P.,web. 27 Sept. 2010.