By Lucas Ramsey
Grade 6 Mill Pond School
Did you know that second-hand smoke kills 53,800 people each year and it isn’t even their fault? I think smoking should be illegal. One reason smoking should be illegal is because it kills 480,000 smokers each year. Second, smoking can cause many diseases and/or cancers. Another reason is smoking is the number one cause of death.
Some causes of death from smoking are from many dangerous cancers such as, lung cancer, liver cancer, bone marrow cancer, stomach cancer, and blood cancer. Smoking also causes dangerous diseases, too. Some diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and can also cause strokes. Smoking can also affect the bone health. Smokers are three times more likely to die of cancer of the pancreas and four times more likely to die of bladder cancer.
Smoking affects all of the body. Smoking takes away good cholesterol. It will raise your blood pressure and increase blood-clotting likelihood. It also makes it hard to exercise. Smokers have twice the risk of heart attack opposed to nonsmokers. Smoking can cause atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer in America. Smoking can cause you to lose your teeth and hurt your gums. Smoking can also increase your chances of having a stroke. Smoking can also cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking can also cause peripheral artery disease.
Secondhand smoke kills 53,800 people each year. 126 million nonsmoking Amer-icans are exposed to secondhand smoke at their homes and/or jobs. When you breathe in smoke you can inhale more than 4,000 chemical compounds. There isn’t a safe amount of smoke anyone could breathe. The smoke from a cigarette can stay in the air for many hours. Seventy of the toxic chemicals in smoking can cause some cancers. Breathing secondhand smoke can make it more likely to get heart disease, get a heart attack, or die at an early age. Cigarette smoke can also cause people to have breathing problems that include having extra mucus, coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing. People who are exposed to smoke at their home or their work can increase their chance of getting lung cancer by twenty percent to thirty percent. Secondhand smoke can cause issues in their respiratory system including coughing and, sneezing more often. Secondhand smoke can also give people respiratory infections such as bronchitis.
Some people might think that smoking shouldn’t be illegal because they think it’s cool or they can’t stop smoking. They may also think that they will start getting overweight if smoking becomes illegal. However, smoking should be illegal, it kills 480,000 smokers each year. It kills 53,800 second-hand smokers each year. Smoking can also cause many dangerous diseases.
Smoking should be illegal. It harms every part of your body. There is no safe amount of smoke a person could breathe in. Cigarettes kill 480,000 smokers and 53,800 second- hand smokers each year.
