Smoking and Other Tobacco Products Should Be Banned On College Campuses

Despite the commonly known adverse effects of tobacco and other drugs, students continue engaging in the habit of smoking within the campus vicinity. Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of preventable premature deaths in America. According to the reports retrieved from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 46 million people of American population aged over 18 years engage in smoking. Besides, there are over 443,000 smoking-related deaths annually (Cdc.gov). The smoking-related illnesses result to enormous financial burden to the society. Moreover, the premature deaths lead to loss of productive members of society leading to a substantial economic loss to the country (Chew). There is, therefore, need to address smoking habits in the society. Having individuals smoking in public places results to exposure of the nonsmokers to the toxic substances contained in tobacco products. It is because; secondhand smoking is as hazardous to the individual as the direct smoker (Chew). The young people may also engage in smoking because of peer influence as they witness others smoke. Additionally, many young people are struggling with quitting the habit and hence need to protect them from further exposure and influence from the peers especially in college settings. Therefore, there is a need to ban all forms of smoking and other Tobacco products within college campuses.

According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, nearly 3,000 adults die every year in the United States due to second-hand smoking. Moreover, living with a smoker, increases the chances of lung cancer by 20% to 30% (Tpchd.org). It means that having individuals smoking or using the tobacco products within the college campus setup, it increases the health risks to students. It is because, the smoker and the passive smoker are all in danger of the effects resulting from the toxic substances contained in the tobacco as they breathe the toxins.

The students have a right to a safe and healthy learning environment. However, with smoking allowed on campuses, the rights are fundamentally denied. Exposure to secondhand smoking is a leading cause of coronary heart disease and results to adverse effects of an individual’s blood vessels that increase the risk of a heart attack. It is even more risky for those individuals that have heart-related problems (Betobaccofree.hhs.gov). Therefore, having smoking allowed to occur freely within the campuses would result to threatening the health of the students suffering from heart conditions. If they breathe the smoke out of their will, it constitutes to infringement of the night to a good health of such an individual as it increases the risk of deterioration of their health. It is the responsibility of the campuses and the government through the relevant bodies to protect all students from any form of preventable harm and hence the need to ban smoking in such campuses.

Tobacco and substance smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Every year, one out of two deaths reported is due to the tobacco-related disease. Such conditions include pneumonia, bronchitis, lung cancer and emphysema. Health reports also indicate that smoking affects the sexual performance of individuals in future dates. It is proven to increase the rate of heart disease infection. Between the year 2004 and 2006 California reported 36,687 deaths resulting from heart disease traced back to the smoking habits (Tpchd.org). The government should, therefore, pass the laws that prohibit smoking in the campuses as a precautionary measure to ensure that tobacco use reduces.

            Tobacco use results to enormous financial burdens to the students and parents and may lead to engagement in criminal behavior such as stealing. If a student gets addicted to tobacco, it means that they cannot function properly without using the drug. The urge can lead to strong compellation to the student to act to get the tobacco, and if they are no longer able to afford to finance the habit, they may result to stealing and other forms of social evils in search for money. It is a tremendous financial burden on the student and the parents if they have to get the money from them. According to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, approximately 96 billion dollars spent in the purchase of tobacco products (Cdc.gov). The medical bill for treating the resulting illnesses averages at 10 billion dollars annually of which the majority is associated with secondhand smoking.

In conclusion, tobacco use has devastating effects on the population. The habit has adverse effects on the public either directly and indirectly. Secondhand Smoking also has harmful effects on the individual’s health and wellbeing since it affects the individuals with similar extent as the direct smoker. Tobacco-related deaths in the country are also alarming and hence the need to put in place punitive measures to curb the problem. There is also a need to protect every individual more so the students who are the future of America from any form of harm including protecting their fundamental right to a healthy learning environment. Therefore, tobacco use should be banned ion all college campuses.