A Silent Killer

A Silent Killer
Chairperson: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I’m Joleen and standing next to me are Fred and Eva. We are a group of 14 year olds trying to make a better community. We are here to speak to you about our future. Have you ever come home with the stench of smoke clinging to your clothes? Or inhaled a cloud of smoke as a group of smokers passed, causing you to cough and choke? Neither experiences are pleasant and this is why smoking should be banned in public areas. Smoking is a dangerous habit that not only affects the smoker, but those around him or her. Banning the smoking in public will keep non-smokers safer. People who smoke subject themselves to deadly diseases by choice. Why should non-smokers be forced to be around it? Let’s hand it over to Fred who will now tell you how our world needs our help and that smoking should be banned.

Main speaker: I’m here to tell you people that smoking should be banned. Every day in Great Britain about 450 children start smoking, 1 in 4 which turns into regular smokers by the age of 15 and every year 106, 000 people die from the effect of cigarettes. Would you want your child to become addicted to smoking? Watching people smoking disgusts me. It seems as though every time I go to the grocery store, gas station or a restaurant there is either a customer or an employee smoking outside the door. That is why I strongly support the local governments ban on no smoking in public places. Moreover, most private business are banning smoking in their office buildings, however, some business' still allow smoking inside their buildings, which is where some problems can begin. Also some people will do anything to avoid second hand smoke because they know the affects that it can have on their health. Never again would I like to see people smoking in public.
Secondhand smoke comes from both the smoke that smoker’s exhale (called mainstream smoke) and the smoke floating from the end of the cigarette or pipe. This may seem pretty harmless, but second hand smoke actually contains thousands of chemicals, many which have been proven to be toxic. In fact second hand smoke significantly increases a person’s risk for asthma, heart diseases and even cancer. As a non-smoker I am very aware of people smoking around me. I know that every time I am breathing in second hand smoke, it is damaging my lungs. So why do people smoke, why would they waste such an amount of money to get packets of poison, why would they smoke even though they know that it is bad for them? The answer to this is ADDICTION. A smoking addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping smoking would cause severe emotional, mental, or physical reactions. I’m sure everyone here knows that smoking is harmful and addictive, but a few of you just don’t realize how risky and addictive it is. Some smokers think that cigarettes help them feel relaxed and calm but they never know what damage it can do not just for himself but his surroundings.
Even here in my home country- China, there are uncountable numbers of smokers. China is the world's largest tobacco producer. It is home to one quarter of the world’s smokers and they put to use a third of the world’s cigarettes. It has among the world’s highest smoking rates, with nearly one-third of all adults lighting up. In China there are about 350 million smokers. This is about three times the number of smokers in the United States, or more than the entire population of the United States! Chinese smokers smoke an average of 15.8 cigarettes a day, which works out to more than 2 trillion cigarettes a year! Smoking kills 1.2 million Chinese a year but 50 percent of Chinese doctors’ smoke. Some people think that smoking is a Chinese culture! Many Chinese like to smoke not only after a meal but during a meal. Expensive cigarette brands like Panda and Zhonghua are commonly given as presents to bosses and parents. A message on packs of Zhongnanhai brand cigarettes reads: “For each pack you buy, you are devoting your part to the charity Hope Project.” Can’t you believe it; companies like this are using people’s lives, their own species to help charity! Here I am standing here in front of you to tell you people that our community is dying.
Smoking has to be banned and ended. Do you really want this earth to die out? Is that we- humans hoped for. We are not only caring for ourselves but our future, your future, others future all depends on this critical decision so smoking has to come to an end. Thank you
Vote of thanks: Ladies and gentlemen, and our most valued invited guests! It's my privilege to have been asked to propose a vote of thanks on this occasion. I, on behalf of our group, and on my own behalf extend a very hearty vote of thanks to all speakers for your important work and sharing with us your findings and opinions today! To our keynote speaker Fred who so humorously encouraged us to watch out for the end of the world and how people have to stop smoking. I personally think that he is absolutely right with the points he mentioned especially the part where he says that we are all killing our own kind, and causing a disaster. I think that we should take action and ban smoking in public places and limit the number of cigarettes smokers can take. Thank you

Timed: 3:46 sec

Fred, Joleen, Eva

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