Smokers And Their Lack Of Rights
Public health issues arising around the world have taken its toll over the smokers in the recent times where smokers are denied of their personal liberty which is their right being a free citizen of any community (Smith & Malone, 14). The government and other responsible organizations are trying so long to apply bans on smoking at public places including stations, bus stands, restaurants, cafes etc., but no one has given a thought for the people who smoke. United States has the most tobacco consumption in the world where many companies are working to provide extra special tobacco for the smokers, but what they haven’t given to the smokers is their right to smoke.
The campaigns that took place in California in 90s in order to ban smoking were very successful as many other states then banned smoking at places where someone else may be harmed from the secondhand smoke. But in recent years due to the freedom rights awareness many smokers have started to make impact to lift this ban which is continuously hurting their egos and desires not to be able to smoke when they require. Smoking is a habit and every person makes decisions about how to shape up their physical and mental habits. This critically means that even if smoking is bad, it still has been chosen as habit and this should not be confronted with the bans.
Libertarians describe the bans as totally illegal and wrong way of implementing power. The African American population in America is around 12%, minority and even so are the Asian communities who live in patches all around the country. Human Rights organizations provide a legal emphasis on the rights of the minorities by allowing their access to all resources of the country because they play an active role in the economic perspectives of the country. Smokers make up around 20% to 30% of any population but evidently no human right organization finds this percentage amusing enough to start the protest of lifting this ban (Smith & Malone, 15). If African American can be given their right of free living with no discrimination, why not this is can happen to the smokers? But they are critically denied of their rights just because they are not vocal enough. They are in fact living their lives according to the rules and regulations that have been implemented upon them by the government which literally controls their smoking areas. There have been no protests; there have been no civil rights movements or any civil disobedience from the smokers in contrary to what minority groups have done in United States in the past. Even gays who are in minority have started to ask for their right for legalizing gay marriages just. If someone wants he should get it, and this is what constitution allows. Does this really mean that smokers too have to gather and have to become aggressive in their approach towards the government’s policies against them? The answer still remains void as nothing has been done in this regards yet and therefore no one is caring about the sentiments of the smokers who are living in this community having seen every person getting the personal liberty. This is far from what even the Declaration of Independence stated as the free country for all the citizens. Does this mean the number of smokers should be increased? No! This is not the solution. The Civil Right Movement wouldn’t have been successful if only 12% of the African Americans would have done this alone. The main proposition always requires some outside help and during this movement there were many whites who fought standing with the blacks because they knew they were right. The freedom rights are there for all and so they did win the movement. Similar is the case here as the smokers require some support, any organization that tries to put forward the requirements of the smokers in a free society.
In recent years, taxing has increased in America and smoking industry has suffered much more than the other. The taxes ratios have increased for the companies producing cigarettes and consumer has to pay more tax for each pack he buys. This is a complete radically inappropriate sanction from the government stating its harsh stand towards the smokers. These are the discriminating actions that are allowing the evolution of hatred to evolve in the smokers (Berridge, 98). The bans are the acts of racism against this group where they are not allowed to smoke in the public places.
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