Banning Smoking in Public Places

While several jurisdictions have successfully implemented a ban on smoking in public places, others are struggling to come up with a clear-cut statute for the same. Banning smoking may seem to be an easy task, with such a large number of health hazards to its credit, but people addicted to it have come up with a long list of reasons as to why it should not be banned..... in public places. Historical records suggest that the first ever ban on smoking in public was implemented way back in 1590, by Pope Urban VII, according to which anyone found smoking in the church premises was subjected to excommunication. Over the period, the issue has become a bit sensitive, and thus, calls for a proper evaluation of the pros and cons before implementing the ban.

A Ban on Smoking in Public Places - Evaluating the Pros and Cons

Smoking ban is a broad concept with several aspects, ranging from a ban as a part of the criminal law to a ban as a part of the general norms of the workplace. While some argue that smoking in public makes a wrong impression on budding minds, others refer to it as a denial of a basic right.

Why Should it be Banned?
Children are always tempted to try out the various things which the 'elders do', that being said a child who sees an adult smoking is bound to get an urge to try the same as he grows up. Outlawing smoking in public also sends across the message that it is not just hazardous for the health, but it is a moral wrongdoing as well. Among the most prominent benefits of such ban, one would be the fact that it would curb passive smoking, which subjects a non-smoker to several poisonous chemicals in cigarettes which can cause a range of disorders, (including asthma and the middle ear infection), to a significant extent.

Studies also reveal that nearly 3,400 non smokers succumb to lung cancer every year, in the United States alone. Statistical evidence also suggests that the places wherein such ban was brought into practice witnessed a large number of people quit smoking, a significant number of whom did it as they didn't find a place to smoke. Similar studies also reveal that the number of patients with ailments like asthma, lung cancer etc. has also decreased in places wherein smoking ban is strictly implemented.

Why Shouldn't it be Banned?
One of the most popular argument against the ban on smoking in public places is that it is a clear cut encroachment on the personal life of the individual. Secondly, smoking ban in public places gives it unnecessary attention, and it is a normal human tendency to try something that is regarded as a taboo in the society. When forced to stop smoking at the workplace, an individual is likely to experience withdrawal symptoms, which can in turn hamper his performance. Making a law is one thing, and implementing it is a totally different ball game.

If a statute pertaining to smoking ban is passed, but not implemented properly, the failure will result in youngsters taking to smoking in closed environment without proper guidance, which will be even more hazardous. On the commercial front, such a ban is bound to affect the business of cafes and pubs. Lastly, this ban is also against the interest of the government, as a significant share of the state treasury comes from the taxes on the cigarettes.

Each of these pros and cons need to be taken into consideration before coming up with some statute about banning smoking in public. More importantly, just coming up with the statute is not important, the administration has to make sure that it is implemented properly. We have seen the futile exercise of making laws, and forgetting them, being repeated quite a few times in the last decade or so. At the end of the day, making a law, but not implementing it, is like not making a law in the very first place.