The smoking habit and addiction to nicotine usually begins at an early age.  In the United States, over seventy percent of adults who smoke began smoking before the age of eighteen (Encarta, 1998).  Smoking should be illegal because there are so many illnesses that people can get whether they are actually smoking or getting secondhand smoke.  In 1998, the American Cancer Society estimated that cigarettes were responsible for over 400 thousand deaths in the United States each year (Encarta, 1998).  Also in 1998, lung cancer accounted for about twenty-nine percent of all cancer deaths in the United States and smoking accounted for about eighty-seven percent of those lung cancer deaths (Encarta, 1998).  Smokers are at increased risk for cancer of the larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas.  A ten-year study published in 1997 concluded that regular exposure to secondhand smoke almost doubled the risk of heart disease.  Female smokers that smoke while they are pregnant increase the probability of their child smoking when they get older.  There is a higher incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) among infants whose mothers smoke during pregnancy or after birth.  Risk also increases in households where the father or another family member smoked.  Research indicates that infants exposed to cigarette smoke only after birth are twice as likely to die of SIDS (Encarta, 1998).

     I know what you are going to say, “It’s a person’s choice whether they want to smoke or not,” and yes it is their choice but they are not only effecting themselves, but other people, whether it be their best friend, their worst enemy, or someone they’ve never seen.

Works Cited

Encarta. CD-Rom. 1998

SIRS- Title Secondhand Smoke.  Susie Spear. Pgs. 1-4. 1993

SIRS- Title Smoking Big With Children. Dana Flavelle. Pgs. 1-4. 1990