Smoking in public areas and open spaces should be banned. Some people believe that restricting people from smoking in such areas is an act of snatching their freedom. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The practice of Lighting and smoking tobacco products freely outdoors should be made illegal and labelled as a taboo. I am a staunch believer of this notion and through this essay would share my opinion and stance towards tobacco consumption. Alternatively a school of thought also arguments that imposing such stringent conditions is a direct violation of their privilege and rights. First and foremost use of tobacco products is not advised or considered good because of multiple reasons mainly due to the health aspects that are related to this malignant practice. Smoking cigarettes or cigars create a lot of smoke that not only harms the smoker but also affects the people in the vicinity. It leads to asthma attacks, passive smoking, cancer, lung disorder syndromes and to sum it up in simple words in general is a hazard to one self and others around them. Secondly, if left unchecked the practice of public smoking can grow exponentially leading to social smoking, which can amass a lot of garbage in the form of cigarette butts, cartons and empty packets which can be scattered by the smokers irresponsibly leading to public littering. A point to note is that these vestiges are non-bio degradable and some of them are even coated with toxic plastics and cyanins thus leading to a disastrous pollution web chain of their own. In addition to the adverse health and environmental effects, smoking in public also sends a wrong message to the impressionable mind of the younger generation, especially the adolescents and the teenagers. They perceive public smoking to be a form of social bonding and status symbol and are forced to take up this unhealthy habit due to peer pressure or lack of maturity, thus creating more victims and addicts to this infinite loop. An example would be the late 80’s and early 90’s when smoking cigars or “FAG” was considered a gentle mans hobby and as a way to socialize among peers and high class society. Inevitably the cases of tuberculosis and lung related diseases were also on the rise during this era, though never coined in any journal but is a well known fact. Contrary to this I also firmly advocate freedom of choice and lifestyle. Lifelong addictions are difficult to change and often not impossible. Hence restricting people from smoking in common areas strictly is also not advisable, rather the optimal solution according to me would be building closed smoking areas for smokers in public places with minimal entry fees for maintenance purposes and impose an age restriction along with that. In addition to that these facilities should have mechanisms to filter and remove the carbon dioxide from leaking outside them and adequate dustbins to collect the waste produced. This should be coupled with adequate education of the masses on the adverse effects of smoking and consumption of tobacco products so that we can hope for a smoke and tobacco free future. So, to conclude I second my outlook against smoking in common areas and advocate to embrace a change rather than impose a boycott on public smoking.