Tobacco

Tabacco has been part of Western culture since the 16th century when explorers of the New World brought tobacco plants back to Europe. Over the past four centuries, smoking has become increasingly popular despite the fact that it has been the cause of countless deaths. The time has come for smoking to be banned. Smoking should be banned because it is an expensive addiction, which is a burden to the citizens of our country. For example, research clearly shows that lower income families. the people who can least afford it, spend the largest portion of their overall incomes on tobacco due to the fact that so many of them are addicted to smoking. For instance, the amount of time factory workers waste smoking when they could be working has a tremendously negative effect on the productivity of our country's industries. Finally, the most inportant reason smoking should be banned is that it causes serious long-term illnesses and deaths, which destroy families and greatly burdens taxpayers. An obvious example of this fact is the huge financial hrdship created within the nation's health care system by terminal cancer patients who require many months if not years of extremely expensive hospital care. The addictive nature of smoking, the time wasted smoking and the huge cost of smoking-related illnesses point to the obvious conclusion that smoking should be banne4d. As soon as possible, the government of this country should outlaw tobacco and begin to treat it just as it does any other highly dangerous, highly illegal substance.