Smoking ban – Will it be effective?
A national daily released a publication stating that a ban on smoking made “no significant difference” in the number of people who smoked after the law, which banned smoking, was adopted. A research compared the number of people smoking before six months of change in the law with people who smoked even after the law was introduced. The study revealed that men over the age of 35 had a tendency to smoke fewer cigarettes than they did before the ban. However, younger men started smoking more, once the ban was introduced.
The positive findings of this research were that more than 35% of the smokers smoked at home instead of going out for a smoke. This reduced the risk of developing cancers and other chronic conditions, which was caused because of second hand smoke. On the contrary, this also led to an increase in the number of children being exposed to second hand smoke.
Is the ban effective?
Smoke-free laws make public places better and more pleasant. This has a positive effect on thousands of people all over the world who are able to protect themselves from second-hand smoke. Preventing smoking in public has a major impact on preventing many health conditions including heart attacks. A ban in smoking can prevent heart attacks up to a third. More than one fifth of the deaths in people above the age of 35 were because of smoking.
While, it has been seen that a smoking ban can be effective in certain cases, it depends on how well the citizens abide by the law. Smoking in public places such as restaurants, hospitals, gardens, cinema halls and bars certainly increases the risk of smoking-related health conditions even for those who do not smoke. The risk of second hand smoke can be reduced by banning smoking in public places. It is high time that people learn to act more responsibly towards their environment as well as their fellow human beings. After all, ‘effective’ is what we make of it.