argue for or against smoking restrictions

The number of smokers worldwide is expected to increase until the year 2010 . This is an increase from 1 .1 billion in 1998 to around 1 .3 billion in 2010 . The most prevalent type of smoking is cigarette smoking which accounts for about 85 percent of all tobacco consumed worldwide . The economic impact of smoking is also staggering as a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 put the cost of smoking at 3 ,391 a year for every smoker , or 157 .7 billion for the entire United States (CDC

, 2004 . These figures show how many smokers there are in society today . Given this data , many governments have planned to impose smoking restrictions in to deal with this problem

Over the years however , more aggressive regulation by the governments through taxes and advertisements , there has been seen a declining trend in these figures . Governments all over the world have tried to limit the places where people can smoke to prevent smoking . The real solution to the smoking problem lies in being able to prevent smoking when it starts (Burnham , 1993 . There are numerous reports and accounts which say that the first time people smoke is usually when they were with peers and drinking . This brief discourse will therefore attempt to shed more light on the issue by showing that smoking restrictions are necessary and effective in dealing with this problem

At the onset , it has been shown that the smoking problem has been around for quite some time now and governments all over the world have taken steps to help in reducing the number of smokers in their respective populations . While there are debates as to the real health effects of smoking , data gathered over the recent years has shown that there is a direct correlation between life span and smoking . In a 50 year study conducted in Britain , it was shown that nonsmokers lived about 10 more years than the smokers (Doll , 2004 . Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite smoking as the single most preventable risk to human health in the world (CDC , 2004 . Based on these figures alone , it is clear that the problem of smoking has to be addressed

The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is an international treaty which took effect on February 28 , 2005 and is a major step in the fight to reduce smoking level and tobacco consumption all over the world . Governments all over the world have also taken the initiative to curb the incidence of cigarette smoking by passing legislation restricting its sale to minors , imposing higher taxes , placing restrictions on cigarette adverting and imposing smoking bans in certain areas (Harley , 1993

On a personal level , this researcher has had an opportunity to witness just exactly what the effects of these regulations on smoking are . Due to the highly addictive properties of cigarettes , the restrictions have been shown to have an impressive impact on smoking . By reducing the number...