A main reasons that people do not want smoking banned is that the tobacco industry is now the second-largest bought product in the country, only behind automobiles (Bender 65). It makes billions every year and millions of people have jobs related to the tobacco industry (Bender 54). By completely eliminating the tobacco industry, there is the possibility of something terrible happening, including the expansion of the already strong Black Market. By having millions out of work overnight, there would be decreasing income tax revenues for the Government and the Black Market would now have new products; cigarettes, pipes and cigars (Bender 61). There could be full scale wars over bootleg cigarettes and black market activity will rise to a level not seen since Prohibition (Bender 61). Crime would rise over illegal tobacco products.
One struggling industry that could plummet due to a smoking ban is the farming industry. Farmers are already a "dying bread" and tobacco crops are major cash crop for them. Whereas an acre of corn might generate $15 of $20, an acre of tobacco will consistently make $800 to $1000 (Bender 63). And farmers will not just be able to dig up the tobacco plants and put in a new crop if tobacco is outlawed. "Farming's a pretty big business," says tobacco farmer Pender Sharp, "and most farms that you see today have about $1 million to $5 million invested in equipment and property and are very vulnerable to a drastic change in the market." (Bender 63)
According to tobacco industry executives, smoking is not addictive. They have testified numerous times in court that smoking is a hobby for adults only, is not addictive, does not cause any form of cancer, and that nicotine is added to cigarettes stricly for flavor and not as an addictive drug. "Tar and nicotine levels have in fact decreased dramatically in cigarettes in the last 40 years," says William I. Campbell, the President and CEO of Philip Morris, U.S.A. tobacco company. "People can and do quit smoking. According to the 1988 Surgeon General's Report, there are over 40 million former smokers in the United States, and 90% of smokers quit on their own, without any outside help. Furthermore, smoking is not intoxicating", states Campbell. "No one gets drunk from cigarettes, and no one has said that smokers cannot function normally. Smoking does not impaire judgement. No one is likely to be arrested for driving under the influence of cigarettes." (Bender 68-69) Campbell also says that Philip Morris has never added nicotine to his cigarettes (Bender 66) and that Government supported research in 1981 of cigarettes showed beyond any doubt that nicotine is not addictive in any way, but that the report was never published (Bender 69).
(http://www.speakup.org)
There is also speculation among many people that the facts surrounding second-hand smoke are wrong and blown way out of proportion. "A smoker breathes in hot, concentrated tobacco smoke and holds it in his lungs before exhaling. A nonsmoker in the vicinity, by contrast, breathes air that includes minute quantities of residual chemicals from tobacco smoke." (Bender 57) "ETS is so highly diluted that it is not even appropriate to call it smoke," says Gary Huber, a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center. During his study of ETS (Environmental Tobacco Smoke), Huber and his fellow researchers found only 14 of the 50 biologically active substances thought to be in ETS. And even if ETS were just as bad for your health as directly smoking a cigarette was, "the doses involved are so small that it's not clear they would have any effect", claims Jacob Sullman, the managing editor of Reason magazine, a monthly publication of libertarian opinion. (Bender 57) James Enstrom, professor of epidemiology at UCLA, estimates that someone exposed to ETS would be taking in the equivilant of a few cigarettes a year. (Bender 58)
Despite the fact the many people feel cigarettes are not nearly as bad for people as everyone thinks, outlawing smoking and placing restrictions on smokers could be a violation of individual rights. California was the first state to make it illegal to smoke in restaurant, bars and casinos. Many other states have also enacted similar laws. The negative effects of this law can only be meaured economically; many business reported immediate drops in revenue after the law was implemented, prompting many places to build patios for smokers. In California, two-thirds of all bars were observing the smoking ban, yet in San Fracisco, only half were. (Knapp) Many small-time businesses cannot afford to lose customers who smoke because they could be a large percentage of their clientele, and losing them could mean losing their business. These small business owners are just trying to make a living and the Government has taken their chance at running a business away by not allowing smoking in their establishments. However, the other employees of these business are happy to have the law. A waitress in Los Gatos, CA I spoke with told me how happy she was to have the law because now she "(doesn't) have to go home smelling like nasty cigarette smoke." (Kitri)
There is also a great deal of discrimination against smokers. Darren Buss, a restaurant manager I interviewed, said, "Although I need the business, I cannot allow smokers into my restaurant. Otherwise I have to pay fines, and it just frankly is not worth it." (Buss) Thomas Harvey Holt, a contributor for Insight, a weekly journal of opinion, speculates that one day "smokers soon may find state social agents on their doorsteps, demanding to know if they smoke in the precense of children. Custody battles could be decided on the basis of who smokes or who doesn't smoke Discrimination against smokers is not just allowed but officialy sanctioned" (Bender 53) Smoking is banned in most public places, such as gyms, sports stadiums, domestuc airline flights, buses and trains. Tobacco advertising is not allowed on radio and is under fire elsewhere.
Smoking has been a common practice for generations. Even
when the Constiution was written, smoking pipes and tobacco was a very popular
hobby, yet nothing was written in the Constitution about smoking. People
have known that smoking is bad since the Indians introduced Walter Raleigh
to tobacco in the 17th century. England's King James I even wrote a pamphlet
against smoking, calling it sinful. (Bender
52) Our society seems to be returning to that frime of mind, where smoking
is a sin and smokers are therefore sinners and should be punished for making
individual choices.
 These charts and pie grpahs, depite showing the fatalities associated with smoking, prove that not as many people are smoking as people generally think. |
 Bar owners protest California's smoking ban by not selling lottery tickets Many Bay Area and Souther California bar owners have refused to obey California's band on smokingin bars and restaurant due to a loss of revenue. Big Tobacco Looks Like a Winner in Supreme Court This article discusses how the Tobacco Industry is combatting the FDA's attempt to regulate tobacco. It looks like the Tobacco Industry might win in this article. |
Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company The movie "The Insider" was about this tobacco company. "When you smoke, you're cool. The more you smoke, the cooler you are. Cigarettes, cigars, pipes ... anything that lights on one end and drags on the other. There's nothing in the world like it. Sure, there are better things. But there's nothing that you can substitute for tobacco smoke. If you don't plan to smoke for life, don't start. There's no point in being cool just some of the time. So this page is for those of you who refuse to be quitters. It's for those of you who refuse to succumb to the pressures of the non-smoking rabble. It's for those of you who refuse to be uncool. Pretty soon, it will also be for those of you who, besides tobacco-related coolness, also enjoy other cool things. We're talking kung fu, crazy Christians, miracle bald cures and much, much more. " (http://members.aol.com/rtvdave/smokecool.html) Has put the following warning label on their cigarettes : "WARNING: SMOKING IS ADDICTIVE." This website basically deals with the lawsuits they have been involved with. One of the major tobacco companies in the United States. The website entails all that is Loriallard Tobacco Company. Mission Statement "The National Smokers Alliance (NSA) is a non-profit membership organization comprised of adults who support accommodation of smokers and non-smokers in public places and in the workplace. The NSA opposes government-imposed smoking bans and believes business owners should have the right to determine their own smoking policies. Further, the NSA opposes discrimination against smokers and excessive taxation or regulation of tobacco products. The National Smokers Alliance is dedicated to fostering a society in
which adult Americans will continue to have the freedom to make personal
choices and business owners will continue to have the freedom to serve the
needs of their customers, unfettered by unnecessary government regulation
or taxation, or discrimination. The National Smokers Alliance serves its
3 million members by providing to the best of its ability information, assistance
and a national platform to preserve, protect and defend these freedoms."
(http://www.speakup.org/moreabout.asp) "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the second-largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States, with four of the nation's 10 best-selling cigarette brands: Winston, Camel, Salem and Doral. Our company's rich heritage of innovation in the laboratory and in the marketplace continue to serve us well in successfully meeting the cigarette brand preferences of about 25% of the nation's 46.5 million adult smokers. (http://www.rjrt.com/CO/Pages/COcover.asp) "We the 137,000 people of Philip Morris, living and working in more than 150 countries. We make the finest quality products found in homes around the globe, and thanks to you, our company is one of the largest, most diverse producers and marketers of consumer goods in the world. We are committed to acting resposibly as a company and to making a difference in the communities where we live and work. We invite you to get to know us better. Woking to make a difference. The people of Philip Morris." (http://www.philipmorris.com/default.asp) Allows people to buy all sorts of tobacco products, including pipes, cigars and cigarettes. Is provides links to various Pro-Smoker newsletters and websites. |