The Effects of Secondhand Smoke

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the effects of second-hand smoke and the debate over protecting non-smokers. The paper attempts to address the question of protecting non-smokers from the the inadvertent negative health effects of passive smoke. To answer this issue, the paper provides an overview of the development of anti-smoking regulations in America and impediments to changing the smoking culture. The paper concludes that because of the health threat second-hand smoke poses to the non-smoking public, smoking should be prohibited from all public places.

Outline
Can the Tobacco Industry Keep Doubt Alive?
Will Legislation Prevail Over the Industry?
Is Evidence Enough to Prove Them Right?
Does the Media Play a Role in Keeping Smoking Alive?
Do Nonsmokers Have the Right to Protection?

From the Paper:

"Many states, especially California and Washington, have now enacted strict controls on workplace and public smoking (Robinson, 1996). Is it right to enforce such controls over a person's right to smoke? This issue has become a well-debated topic, debated by your average person on the street to your local law maker. OSHA since has put restrictions on workplace smoking, making it only possible in well-ventilated areas (Browner, 1993). Smoking is no longer allowed in your average office cubicle or lunch room. The courts are filled with lawsuits from nonsmokers who died of lung cancer after long-time exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. Can such accusations be validated? On a positive note, all of these developments have helped persuade many smokers to cut back or even quit all together. This new "awareness" has cut deeply into the tobacco industry's profits, but has not made enough of an impact to convince the population to quit smoking all together. In response to this change in behavior, the industry is fighting back, including Federal court hearings in an effort to overturn the EPA's decision (Morain, 1993). They have spent millions trying to block local public smoking restrictions, and in many cases, have succeeded in their fight. Most visible were advertising campaigns focused on spreading doubt and turning the EPA's decision into a government control issue. These efforts have worked, but only to a certain point."

More papers on The Effects of Secondhand Smoke:

• Cause and Effect Essay # 112086 : "Secondhand Smoke and Children"
• Argumentative Essay # 93305 : "Secondhand Smoke Exposure"
• Argumentative Essay # 121813 : "Control of Tobacco"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: