Should Cigarettes be Made Illegal (Essay Sample)

Should cigarettes be made illegal?
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Should cigarettes be made illegal?
Cigarettes have been associated with humankind for many centuries taking the form of cigars and pipes. Nowadays, the cigarette industry is a multi-billion dollar sector attracting numerous investment opportunities. Nevertheless, cigarettes are known to have profound effects on the life of smokers. Finding a balance between the positive and negative effects of cigarette evokes heated debates. Cigarettes should be made illegal because they cause death, affects the population negatively as well as bringing economic burden to the society.
One obvious reason in support of illegalizing smoking is the fact that cigarettes kill. Such is the seriousness of smoking that the Center for Diseases and Control report more than 440,000 deaths annually in the United States (Chew, 2013). These deaths come from complications resulting from diseases such as lung cancer, pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema, and vascular diseases among others. Even worse is the fact that most deaths are recorded among young people thus robbing the society valuable human resources. Governments around the world should make it their priority to illegalize cigarettes to curb these deaths.
Another reason for illegalizing cigarettes is related to the profound effects evident in the immediate population. Passive smoke bring about worse effect of cigarettes on the population, which are equally dangerous as those of active smoke. Many people are arrested daily for violating smoking rules, which brings much burden to their immediate families. Cigarette smoke is a nuisance to the society as it chokes and pollutes the environment. Cigarette filters are an equal environmental nuisance because they are not easily biodegradable. Various cases of infernos have been attributed to reckless behaviors of cigarette smokers (Newman, 2009). These effects could be avoided if proper laws are passed aimed at illegalizing cigarettes.
Cigarettes contribute to huge financial burden in the society. The cost of treating various diseases caused by cigarettes is overwhelming. The United States spend around $93 billion annually to cater for cigarette-related health problems (Chew, 2013). In addition, the productivity lost due to smoking cigarette is overwhelming. The average cigarette smoker uses much money to buy a pack of cigarette, which could be put into more important monetary use that benefits the society. According to Dr Robert Proctor from Stanford University, cigarette smoking ends up making the poor even poorer in most cash-strapped parts of the world (2013).
In conclusion, cigarettes should be made illegal because they are associated with many negative effects. It leads to many deaths arising from various diseases such as lung cance...