Cigarettes cause eighty-five percent of lung cancer and are responsible for thirty percent of all deaths resulting from cancer. People who have smoked for a long time will have obvious problems breathing and will most likely be in poor health. One out of four deaths of people thirty-five to sixty-four years old result from smoking. On the average, every cigarette takes five and a half minutes of life away from a smoker. .
It is ridiculous that we stand by and watch thousands of fellow Americans die because they have become addicted to cigarettes. Thousands of smokers try to stop smoking cigarettes but can't because of the physiological dependence they develop, mainly because of their addictive chemical, nicotine. Cigarette manufacturers insist that their products contain nicotine to satisfy an addiction, although technology to remove nicotine from cigarettes was developed years ago cigarette manufacturers won't use it. Instead they control the amount of nicotine in their products, ensuring that it will maintain an addiction. Nicotine makes it almost impossible for cigarette smokers to quit smoking because of its addictive nature, and with the cigarette manufacturers manipulating the amount of nicotine the only way to stop the killing and diseases caused by cigarettes is to outlaw them.
The government often inspects items sold to the American public. Commercial products that may be dangerous such as food, cars, and toys have been recalled in order for alterations. In the August 2001 issue of consumer reports, twenty-four products were recalled because of possible dangers to the consumer. These products included a car that may lose a wheel while in motion, a hair dryer that poses a fire hazard, and cookies that can cause an allergic reaction. Yet, the sale of cigarettes, proven to be unsafe, has never been prohibited by the government. Why are cigarettes any different from other dangerous products sold in the United States?.
