Light and Ultra Ciggarates (Essay Sample)

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Light and Ultra-light Cigarettes
People have different perceptions on light and ultra-light cigarettes. Some smokers believe that ultra-light cigarettes are safe as compared to the light cigarettes. They think that the ultra-light cigarette smokers are subjected to fewer health risks as compared to the light cigarette smokers. Smoking is harmful to an individual’s health. Therefore, both light land ultra-light smokers are exposed to the same health risks. The National Cancer Institute has revealed that both light and ultra-light smokers inhale the same hazardous chemicals. Both of them remain at a high risk of developing cancer and other respiratory diseases. From this vantage point, the perception about ultra-light cigarettes being safe as misleading.
Individuals smoking ultra-light cigarettes thinking that they are safe are misled. Light and ultra-light cigarettes are not safe since they pose a health risk to smokers. The only proven way of reducing health risks to smokers is to quit smoking. The ultra-light cigarettes smokers should also quit because they are exposed to the same health risks like other cigarette smokers. Furthermore, both light and ultra-light smokers should stop the smoking habit because it leads to passive smoking. Passive smoking is still harmful to the people because they inhale the same hazardous chemicals that develop smoking related cancers and other respiratory diseases. There are three groups responsible for harm caused by the light and ultra-light cigarette smoking.
Individual Smokers
Individual smokers contribute to the group solely responsible for the harm caused by light and ultra-light cigarette smoking. Most cigarette smokers know that cigarette smoking is harmful to their health, as well as others, but they still smoke. Moreover, they smoke publicly increasing the health risks of other innocent individuals. Individual smokers should quit the smoking habit if they want to be safe from cancer and other related diseases. They should know that safe smoking does not exist whether they smoke light or ultra-light cigarettes.
Smokers should know that there is a difference between individual smoking and machine smoking. The machines do not measure the exact tar and nicotine levels from the cigarettes. The presence of vent holes allows air to pass through hence diluting the cigarette smoke. The machine, therefore, records low levels of nicotine and tar. Many people should know that such measurements are not right. They should not choose to smoke because of the results obtained from the machine. The machine is not perfect since other harmful substances are not detected.
Many smokers should do their best to quit the smoking habit regardless of their craving for nicotine. Because smoking is a habit that many people find hard to quit, they should try to find away on how best they can quit smoking. They may opt to reduce the cigarettes they smoke on a daily basis. Because of cigarette smokers crave for nicotine that makes them smoke to obtain it, they should find foods that can help in reducing their craving for nicotine. Chain smokers who wish to quit can decide to go to the rehabs.
Government/Regulatory Agencies
The government and regulatory agencies are responsible for the harm caused by light and ultra-light cigarettes in various ways. The regulatory agencies have not been keen enough to see if the cigarette companies meet the standard requirements for their production. For example, the smoking machine used to measure the hazardous chemicals found in the cigarette does not give the exact quantities of chemicals inhaled due to the dilution that occurs in the process. Furthermore, the machine does not measure all harmful chemicals that smokers inhale while smoking.
If possible, the government should ban the production of cigarettes. Instead, it supports cigarette production by taxing the...