Should cigarettes be banned?

Amit P.Patel
Professor Hodge
English 1101
26 November 2003
I strongly support illegalizing cigarettes due to their devastating effects on our society. One in every five deaths in America is due to tobacco. More than 400,000 Americans are killed by tobacco use every year and this trend continues as millions are still using tobacco products especially cigarettes. Every year, health cost and lost productivity costs the United States almost $150 billion. “For each pack of cigarettes sold in 1999, $3.45 was spent on medical care due to smoking, plus $3.73 in lost productivity, for a total cost of $7.18 per pack.” However, beside so many problems it “is the single most preventable cause of death in our society.”(American Cancer Society)
Tobacco originally grew in the Americas. Native Americans were the first one to use tobacco products and Christopher Columbus introduced tobacco to the Europeans, as he got tobacco leaves as gift from Native Americans. In earlier times it was con...