Tobacco Should Be Banned In The U.S

Tobacco should be banned in the United States. I stand affirmitive to this resolution under the moral of public safety. For the sake of my opening arguments, I shall be focusing primarily on the health risks that tobacco poses to both the user and those that are around the drug when it is in use.Now, everybody and their mother's uncle has most likely heard about the health effects of tobacco through either the education system, countless amounts of anti-smoking propaganda on television, or even through word of mouth. The fact of the matter is, all of these ring true and it is under these reasons that I stand affirmitive to the resolution. sgr_figure2_400.jpgThe above picture depicts many, if not all, of the different chronic diseases and cancers that smoking tobacco can cause in a human being. [1]Also according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), smoking tobacco causes more deaths each year than HIV/AIDS, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, and firearm-related incidents. So, what exactly does this say about tobacco? Well, let us delve further into just what exactly makes tobacco so dangerous.Addictive TendenciesThe chemical inside of tobacco that makes it so addictive is a toxin called nicotine. This toxin is considered the "most addictive of all drugs." [2] What nicotine does is stimulate the same areas of the brain that methamphetamines and cocaine do. What makes it so addictive is how our body develops a tolerance of nicotine much faster than these other two drugs. "Neurochemically, the body adapts to the toxins in tobacco a few hours after smoking – which quickly makes smoking necessary in order to feel "normal.'" In its purest form, nicotine is a poison. In fact, just three drops of pure nicotine would be enough to kill an adult. [3] Thankfully, only 1mg of nicotine is inhaled per cigarette that a person may smoke. Nicotine is the least concentrated in chewing tobacco.Wait, but hold on. There's only 1mg of nicotine per cigarette. That doesn't seem like much right? Let's take into consideration that there is approximately 20 cigarettes per pack. This would be an intake of 20mg of nicotine per pack of cigarettes. The lethal dose of nicotine is considered to be 50mg/kg.[4] Now, allow us to assume that the average cigarette smoker smokes approximately 1.5 packs a day, this would mean that they are having an intake of 30mg of nicotine each day. Over half of the lethal dose is ingested daily. While the smoker may feel stimulated by the nicotine, they are slowly beginning to kill themselves through this addictive drug. That brings us to the next part of our analysis.What makes tobacco so deadly?For this part of the argument, we shall analyze smokeless, also known as chewing, tobacco. As according to a WebMD article from 2009 [5], there are many more toxins in chewing tobacco than we thought:"Researchers have identified new toxins and cancer-causing substances in smokeless tobacco and snuff, in addition to other known carcinogens, such as nitrosamines. Researchers say sales of moist snuff have doubled since the 1980s, and that many smokeless tobacco users mistakenly believe the products are less hazardous to their health because they do not expose the user to tobacco smoke. But their study, presented today at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, shows some of the most popular smokeless tobacco and snuff brands contain an additional 21 smoke-related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are potent toxins and carcinogens." Now, on the other side, what is it about cigarettes that makes them so deadly? What are some of the chemicals that can be found in cigarette smoke? The following is a list of toxins/chemicals found in cigarette smoke and other places they may be found or other things they may be used in [6]: - Formaldehyde :: Used in the embalming process of dead bodies.- Benzene :: A chemical commonly found in gasoline- Vinyl chloride :: A chemical used to make pipes- Arsenic :: A deadly poison that is found in many pesticides- Cadmium :: Used in batteries- Carbon monoxide :: A poisonous gas that can be found in car exhaust- Ammonia :: Used in household cleaners and bleaching productsNow, for the above reasons, I stand affirmitive to this resolution. In my rebuttals, not only shall I refute what my opponent may offer as his opening remarks, but I shall dive even deeper into the health risks tobacco proposes towards not only the smokers/chewers, but the masses as well.I look forward to seeing my opponent's constructive remarks.Sources:[1]http://www.cdc.gov...;[2]http://www.pamf.org...;[3]http://www.quit-smoking-central.com...;[4]http://www.cdc.gov...[5]http://www.webmd.com...[6]http://www.cdc.gov...