Firstly, smoking poses a danger to our health. Smoking not only causes lung cancer, it also increases the risk of miscarriages in pregnant mothers, ruptures our lungs, and causes other lethal cancers. Research has also shown that one in 2 lifetime smokers die from their habits, and half of the deaths occur in middle age. Many smokers suffer from heart attacks and strokes due to the strain in blood vessels and the heart caused by nicotine and carbon monoxide.
Secondly, second-hand smoke exhaled from smokers also poses a threat to the health of others. People round the smoker have a general increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Some children are even found to have brain tumours caused by such second-hand smoke. In additon, people are found to have skin disorders due to the second-smoke of smokers. The smoker is not only putting his life in danger, he is also placing other people's life in danger.
Therefore, more bans must be placed in public places to improve the health of the people, with severe consequences to offenders who infringe the ban. Imposing a higher cost in purchasing cigarettes would also help to reduced the number of smokers. Hopefully the number of smokers in Singapore would be reduced; we would then live in a clean and healthy environment.
Although I agree with you that more should be done to minimise the amount of smokers, should it necessarily be bans? There are already bans on smoking in many places in Singapore and if more bans were to be introduced, will there be enough manpower to enforce the ban? Also, consider the amount of protest and anger that will erupt over the introduction of more bans and the increase of cigarette prices from not only smokers but also companies that enjoy lucrative profits from the sale of cigarettes. Will it be more economically and socially wise to reduce the number of smokers with things like campaigns instead?
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