Hi all... assignment was to write on a controversial/ethical topic and:
1- Define your terms, because you are going to be dealing with controversial issues.
2- You must make a value judgment in this essay. If you do not do so, you have not completed the assigned task.
3- You will need to think seriously about what constitutes supporting evidence for a value judgment. What is evidence in this area?
so here is what I came up with...
Should Smoking Be Banned in All Public Places?
It is not unusual to drive by any place of business and see the employees enjoying a cigarette. To me, a nonsmoker, this is a nice sight to see that after years of trying, organizations such as the American Cancer Society have finally made an impact of how harmful second hand smoke can be. I can understand the frustrations that a smoker must feel and that the whole world may be against them, but on the other hand there are also lasting positive advantages by prohibiting smoking in public places. I believe that smoking should be banned in public places. Smoking pollutes the environment, second hand smoke is more harmful than actually smoking, and perhaps if smoking were banned more people would be prompted to quit and make for a healthier society.
Walking around the park just this past weekend with my girls, I was actually disgusted that there was not a step taken without the sight of a cigarette butt. If laws were passed to ban smoking in the parks this endless sight would be eliminated. Also the litter from cigarette packages was probably on top of the list of garbage that we saw and picked up.
The second advantage to banning smoking in public places would be at restaurants. I have often wondered why the hostess of a restaurant bothered to ask the preference I had between smoking and non, when the only visible difference was the little plastic no-smoking sign next to our table. There was no magic wall that stopped the smoke from drifting to our table, and the last thing I want to taste with my dinner is someone else's exhaled cigarette smoke. Studies from the American Cancer Society show that exposure to second hand smoke has serious side effects such as low birth rate children for pregnant women to 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults. They also list restaurants as one of the top 3 places that secondhand smoke is a problem, along with the workplace and your home (ACS, 2008).
The third advantage to banning smoking in public is maybe that is the last straw that will make the smoker finally quit. This will promote a healthier society; it will save that smoker money they otherwise would spend on not only cigarettes, but also doctor's visits, and medications. Those savings would not only be for themselves but for their family members as well. My husbands' parents were avid smokers while he was growing up, so much so they linked his severe asthma to their smoking. He even had his own breathing machine at home due to it acted up so often. So the expenses were everywhere. His brother has experienced several health issues as well such as ear infections and thyroid problems which the Dr.'s feel comfortable attributing it to the exposure to second hand smoke. The parents themselves have had many health problems from heart issues to cancer scares to dental problems. In 2000 when we had our first daughter, their first granddaughter, that was enough for his dad to quit cold turkey that day. He decided he had wasted enough time being sick and wanted to be around for us and our children.
I think these advantages are well worth making the changes for; the environment has enough contenders with global warming, and other pollution that we don't need to be adding anything else into the mix. Also our children are faced with many other challenges and drugs that we do not need to be role models and so casually ignore so many warnings of how dangerous smoking can be for us. I do not think that the ban needs to go to the extreme of banning bars and cigar bars - but our parks and family orientated places should not be subjected to such a devastating pastime.
You have made a very important observation; very frequently writers do reread a work the way they "intended" it; if there's ever a time that you can't get someone else to read it for you, my advice is to walk away and leave it alone for a day. When you return to read it it will be with fresh eyes that have had a break.
