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Public Smoking Effects

Smoking in public causes problems with non-smokers inhaling second-hand smoke. Up to 4,000 chemicals can be found within this second-hand smoke. Of these 4,000 chemicals, 250 have been found to be harmful to the human body. An additional 25 have been linked to several types of cancer. Public smoking puts those around the smoker at risk, and many municipalities around the United States and Europe have banned smoking in certain public spaces.

  1. Accepted Science

    • According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the residue of cigarette smoke that is said to affect other people is referred to as "passive smoking." The components of passive smoking are "mainstream" smoke, which is the exhaled smoke from the cigarette smoker, and "sidestream" smoke, which comes from the burning end of the cigarette itself. These components are reported to contain several chemicals that can potentially lead to a variety of health concerns, ranging from eye and throat irritation to heart disease and cancer.

    Dissenting Opinions

    • While many people who are unconvinced of the danger of public smoking do not dispute the physical characteristics of passive smoke, they do question the reliability of the evidence that smoking in open-air environments or in areas that provide separate ventilation for non-smokers is still harmful to others.

    Media Interpretation of Scientific Findings

    • Considering the fact that strong opinions about public smoking effects are based on scientific evidence, the means by which this information is dispersed to the general public needs to be understood. The relationship between journalists and scientists was examined in a 2007 content analysis study of mainstream newspapers. In some cases, the personal opinion of the journalists reporting on scientific findings influenced the way in which the information was presented.

    Media Bias and Factual Reporting

    • The media outlets that are most responsible for disseminating information are TV news networks, online media sites and forums, and print media. While the stated goal of most of these media sources is to present a fair representation of factual data, there have been documented cases of information manipulation to support the views and/or personal agendas of employees and executives of some news organizations.

    Further Debate

    • One of the issues relevant to the potential health risks associated with passive smoke is the individual choice to use tobacco juxtaposed against the non-smoker's access to smoke-free environments. There have been legislative actions enacted in recent years that attempt to regulate businesses that allow smoking in their establishments. While alternatives are offered that would enable a proprietor to install separate ventilation in non-smoking areas, some business owners suggest that the mandated expense of installing these systems infringes on their rights to conduct business without government intervention.

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