Smoking is a major cause of serious illness and death throughout the world today. In the interest of the public heath, governments should ban cigarettes and other tobacco products. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. (Write at least 250 words.)

There are widely differing views on the issue of whether

tobacco

should be banned or not. Some people would suggest that it is their right to smoke and that prohibiting cigarettes would be a violation of their civil liberties;

however

, I personally believe that

tobacco

should indeed be made illegal. There are two principal reasons for

this

. One point which I believe to be absolutely pivotal is the fact that

tobacco

is a drug. The majority of governments around the world take a prohibitionist approach to the problem of substance abuse. If the governments wish to be consistent in pursuing their “war on

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drugs

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drug

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drugs

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”,

therefore

, I believe they must ban

tobacco

as well.

This

is particularly so given the fact that many currently illicit drugs – including heroin and marijuana - have legitimate medical applications,

while

tobacco

has none.

However

, perhaps the strongest argument in

favor

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favour

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of banning cigarettes and other

tobacco

products is that of public health. It is

irrefutable

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an irrefutable

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fact that smoking leads to lung cancer and other

such

potentially fatal diseases.

Pro- smoking

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Pro-smoking

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groups would no doubt argue that each individual has the right to determine what goes into his/her own body.

Nevertheless

, I would suggest that the interests and rights of society at large must override those of the individual. The medical treatment that smokers require is often incredibly costly, and it is frequently governments and society that cover these costs rather than the individual smoker.

Hence

, I feel laws prohibiting smoking would be entirely justified. In reality, of course, the widespread prohibition of smoking is unlikely in the near future.

However

, given the seriousness of the problems that it causes, I believe that

this

should be the ultimate goal.