It is a controversial issue whether governments should ban smoking completely. Some people strongly oppose smoking, while others hold a contradictory perspective. In my view, I advocate banning smoking in a gradual process.
There are two potential reasons why people believe smoking is intolerable. Firstly, smoking is an unhealthy behavior. Specifically, smoking is the primary factor causing the lung cancer. Furthermore, that adverse impact of smoking affects not only smokers themselves, but smoking also threatens the air quality for other people who don’t smoke. In other words, smoking brings negative externalities to the public. In addition to the health concern, smoking is likely to place financial burden on smokers because cigarettes are usually expensive.
However, some people assert that ban on smoking is unnecessary. One potential excuse is that governments do not have right to deprive people from freedom of smoking. Another reason is possibly related to the income from cigarettes transaction. The related income can be discussed in two parts. Firstly, the increasing selling of cigarettes help the profit of cigarette stores rise. Secondly, governments also receive income from tax on cigarette. Therefore, some store owners and officials in the government institutions are skeptical on the necessity on banning smoking.
In conclusion, both groups purpose their reasons to either support or oppose the smoking ban. Although ban on smoking may diminish some groups’ profit, the relevant ban will be beneficial to public health. As a result, I personally advocate that governments should establish strict regulations on smoking. In the meantime, I encourage that the ban can be implemented with several phases in order to avoid severe complaints.