Smoking Cigarettes in Public Places is a Big No!

CIGARETTE smoking is dangerous to one’s health. This is the constant reminder of health authorities to everyone, especially those who smoke. Cigarette smoking means the practice of burning cigarette where the smoke may be inhaled or may be released through the mouth. Smoking cigarettes is not beneficial to the smokers and to the non-smokers as well. It is because smoking cigarettes affects the health and well-being of one and all.

Smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking cigarettes also increases the risk of tuberculosis, certain eye diseases and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis and others ( https://www.cdc.gov, February 25, 2022 ).

Anybody can smoke cigarettes if he/she wishes to do so. Nobody can force him/her not to smoke or to quit smoking because it is his/her own right. It is his/her own life, so nobody can take cigarette smoking from him/her. But, they should ensure to smoke cigarettes in places that are designated as cigarette smoking area and not in public places.

Smoking cigarettes in public places is really a big NO! Republic Act No. 9211, also known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, is a law regulating tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, sales restrictions and SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES. This Act was designed to promote a healthy environment and protect citizens from the hazards of tobacco smoke, inform the public of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking and tobacco use, regulate and subsequently ban all tobacco advertisements and sponsorships, except at point of sale, regulate labelling of tobacco products, and protect young people from being initiated to cigarette smoking and tobacco use through access restrictions ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, February 25, 2022 ).

Smoking cigarettes in public places is not really allowed. It is because the smoker can also harm the health and well-being of everyone in that certain public place. Smokers should put in their minds that he/she is not the only one in public places, including in the different modes of transportation. There are also other individuals present which may include children or minors. There are also individuals in public places who do not smoke cigarettes. So, if smokers smoke cigarettes in public places, he/she can really disturb other individuals, he/she can really harm the health and well-being of others, and most especially, he/she can really violate the right of other individuals to be healthy and free from anything that can harm their health and well-being. Smokers must put in their minds that they can harm others through the so-called secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by the smokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.  According to the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, 2.5 million adults who were nonsmokers died because they breathed secondhand smoke ( https://www.cdc.gov, February 25, 2022 ).

Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome. Some of the health conditions caused by secondhand smoke in adults include coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer ( https://www.cdc.gov, February 25, 2022 ).Please, smokers do not smoke in public places. Be mindful enough with others. If you want to smoke, do it in your private place or away from others. Other individuals have also the right to be or to use these different public places. These public places are not exclusively for you. Again, do not smoke cigarettes in public places, or better stop smoking since it is not giving you anything good for you and for your loved ones.