Smoking”¦ public smoking”¦ we imagine different things when we heard these words and sometimes our images are positive, but often they are really negative. This paper will be about different points of views on this problem and may be we find something interesting and new in this old problem. By the way, it is talked a lot about smoking and its harm among physicians, especially in a cardiology. Practically every article, every scientific lecture, every comment of specialist, devoted to treatment and preventive maintenance of heart diseases, mentions the waiver of smoking as a necessary constituent of measures on modification of way of life. And at the same time specialists consider, that this hardy annual obviously not enough. Indeed, usually smoking is discussed in general terms, disregard the great harm which reveal itself through years and make so big problems for our health. Public smoking is dangerous for people, but sometimes we forget this and try to pay our attention on more dangerous things than smoking. We try leave out modern physiopathology researches about public smoking; leave out clinical and experimental information about smoking, exposing its harm for smoker’s organism and for people around. Consequences are obvious: considerable part of our society smokes, without regard to doctors’ recommendations. I can say that even physicians smoke and it is facts of life which we can see everyday.
People smoke from immemorial times. History of tobacco in the world counts three thousand years already and for these centuries many people tried to look at this moment from different sides. Fight against this “sweet” potion at an international level actively began only in the last century, and while there are no obvious proofs, that the notorious “healthy way of life” gains victory.
The enormous army of smokers provides the assured incomes to the tobacco companies of the world, as, in spite of all measures, health protections accepted organizations in swingeing majority of countries, a tobacco while remains the most accessible and widespread drug. I have read one article about public smoking and I agree with its statements in 100%, that’s why I want to quote part of it because it reflects my own thoughts: “People often ask themselves a simple question: “Why do I smoke” or “What does it give me” or they just smoke and watch the gray streams of smoke penetrating their lungs. Some people like to smoke at home while watching TV or taking a bath, some like to smoke in the overcrowded street, but none of them would smoke in the places specially determined for smokers. Why does it happen so that smokers would better die than smoke in such places?
Another point is: “Would you breathe with a killing air if you’re not a smoker?” This point of view is much closer to usual people that haven’t ever handled a cigarette.
These two points create so much inconveniences that it seems that nothing can solve this problem. Nevertheless there is one “BUT” that has a right to stop this useless conversation. It is a government that can simply promulgate a law to prohibit smoking in public places and to low the age, allowing smoking. But if it could be as easy as it seems. The taxes that cigarette corporations pay to the government are so huge that nobody will reject it.”
http://chery.fina.org.ua/2009/01/19/smoking-in-public-places/)
As I said in paragraph above public smoking is ambiguous question which has several sides and it also has position which supports smokers and their right to be free in a choice where they can smoke. First of all I want to say that it is comfortable for smokers to smoke in public place and many of them think that it is not dangerous for people around them, especially at the open air. The next step in our conversation will be connected with the statement that cigarette helps to activate brain activity and only after cigarette person can solve difficult problems or even think about very simple things. Smoking is hard disease of our century and smokers consider that they also have a right for the public smoking, because they are members of society too. I can’t say that their position is wrong and we should change their minds, because smoking is also one of the relax form for smokers and they have their own opinion and life position in attitude to this question. I want to add that in press sometimes we can see information about the benefit of nicotine. There is certain base for such statements, but it is necessary well understand its value for practice of health protection. Nicotine in experimental researches indeed demonstrates the row of positive effects: toning up of the nervous system, improvement of processes of cicatrization, stimulation of angiogenesis. However much these effects showed up in experiments on animals, and the experimental findings do not absolutely correlate with clinical and epidemiology researches for people.
Also I want to talk a little about third position which is something middle between “for” and “against” public smoking. People, who keep this position think that smoking is not so harmful for human organism and smokers can choose place for smoking at own discretion. I think that here should be also taken into account main rules which are connected for example with pregnant women, children and people who have different allergies.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned and summarize three different positions I want to say that I agree with first of them, which is connected with big harm of public smoking and smoking at all. For the conclusion I want to say that every man from the birth has a right to breathe free open air, and I want to add to these words that every person has also a right to live healthy. In my opinion smoking in public place should be banned. This ban has many reasons and among them the biggest is a neutralization people from the dangerous conditions made up by the cigarette smoke. Public smoking breaks a right to breathe fresh air for people who are not smoke and it is also harmful for their health. It is very irresponsibly from smokers’ side to damage not only own lungs but also everyone’s who stand near and should breathe cigarette smokes. Probably, most important, that can help in a fight against smoking, is propaganda of health life and positive values. Foremost it is propaganda of desire to live, and to live by valuable, healthy, active life. Unfortunately, our society is infected by pessimism and disbelief in the future, for us instinct of self-preservation is lost, and such situation very often provokes stress conduct, including smoking. On a background of numerous social shocks, ecocatastrophes, soldiery conflicts and medical problems smoking in the eyes of inhabitant looks sufficiently “innocent”. Therefore for us there must be extraordinarily valuable to make any little steps toward overcoming of this fatal error.