Smoking is Illegal for Pregnant Women

When you look at a cigarette, you would never think that it is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands every year. Cigarettes are one of the most underrated murderers in the world. They cause diseases, birth defects, cancer, and so much more. Cigarettes take the lives of more than just who smoke them. Smokers are responsible for thousands of pounds of litter yearly. Cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands every year including children and babies; therefore, the ability to buy cigarettes should be made illegal in the United States. Secondhand smoke is a dangerous byproduct of smoking that can only be eliminated by making cigarettes illegal. It occurs when you inhale smoke that’s in the air from a person smoking. An important piece of information I found was that even the smallest amounts of secondhand smoke exposure are harmful to health. (CDC) Many government agencies have classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen including.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. National Toxicology Program. The U.S. department of health and human services states that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke can suffer from Ear infections, increased severity of asthma attacks, coughing, sneezing, bronchitis and pneumonia. In adults, secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and lung cancer. According to the Surgeon General, “living with a smoker increases a non smoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.”(Cancer.gov) Secondhand smoke is a dangerous byproduct of smoking that has many negative effects on both adults and children. Complications with childbirth is another dangerous and sad byproduct of smoking cigarettes that can be avoided by making cigarettes illegal. Studies done by AmericanPregnancy.org show that, “12-20 percent of pregnant women smoke, putting themselves and their babies at risk, and over 1,000 babies in the U.S. die each year because their mothers smoked while pregnant.”(APA)

To begin, smoking can cause the placenta to separate from the womb too early, causing bleeding. Smoking increases the risk of babies to be born with certain birth defects, such as a cleft lip.(cCDC An Article from the march of dimes states, “If you smoke during pregnancy, you’re more likely to have a miscarriage or a stillbirth.”(marchofdimes.org) These are just some of the complications involving childbirth that are caused by smoking. Cigarette litter is a more ignored aspect of smoking that can be avoided by making cigarettes illegal. Cigarette butts may not seem bad, but they still contain over 7,000 dangerous chemicals and are not biodegradable. B out an experiment where a single cigarette butt that had traces of tobacco was introduced to one liter of water. The cigarette butt resulted in high toxicity levels, and the death of 50% of the fish in the water. (beachapedia.org) When animals ingest cigarette butts they are getting all the chemicals in a cigarette.

A cigarette butt is made of plastic that is called cellulose acetate, this plastic can take anywhere from 18 months to 10 years to decompose depending on where it was discarded at.(verywellmind.com). The litter caused by cigarettes could be eliminated by making cigarettes illegal. Most importantly, cigarettes should be illegal due to the amount of deaths caused by them. Cigarettes contain nicotine which has a relaxing effect on the user. Unfortunately. Cigarettes also contain about 7000 other chemicals. The CDC explains that “Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.”(c use.(CDC) When a person smokes one cigarette it raises their blood pressure and kills the good bacteria in their mouth, which drys out their mouth, causing bad breath.(kekmedicine) This is why cigarettes should be illegal.

Many people believe that smoking is their own decision and they should be able to choose. This is understandable but when someone smokes a cigarette, everyone around them is being affected by secondhand smoke. Even if a person smokes in their house it leaves a residue of chemicals on whatever the smoke touches that builds up over time. Smokers are responsible for literal tons of litter every year due to just cigarette butts. Cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands every year including children and babies; therefore, the ability to buy cigarettes should be made illegal in the United States. There are many reasons why this holds true. First, cigarettes create second hand smoke that is harmful to anyone nearby. To continue, smoking causes complications in a pregnancy, including birth defects. Last but nit least, smoking is a killer. It kills hundreds of thousands every year, including.