Second-Hand Smoke
...r useful because the smoke always drifts into the non-smoking eating area. Smelling and eating food are not even enjoyable when toxic chemicals are floating around the plate. Exposure to second-hand smoke can cause many negative reactions in the body of a non-smoker. My personal experience with exposure to cigarette smoke is that my head starts to pound with an ear-splitting headache; eventually my eyes start to water, and my nose burn when I breathe. Some individual’s reactions are more complicated; if around smoke for a long duration of time it is possible to contract heart disease and lung cancer amongst other things. Not only adults need to be protected, but children and adolescents as well. Parents cannot ignore their responsibility to protect their children from the dangers of second-hand smoke. Not only is second-hand smoke a serious health hazard to the lungs that inhale it, but it also endangers the lives of unborn babies. Unborn children are at just as much risk as everyone else. Pregnant women who are exposed to second-hand smoke show higher signs of birth defects in their newborns and have more occurrences of health problems later in the child’s life. People opposed to the elimination of second-hand smoke often raise issues about individual freedom and rights. However, smokers can choose to smoke somewhere else or not smoke at all. A non-smoker has to breathe; he does not have a choice in the matter. Smoking forces second-hand smoke exposure on non-smokers and raises the risk of serious health complications. Another issue that opponents raise is the loss of revenue to many businesses. However, is it not possible that just as many peopl...