Please do not smoke in the street - Lee JaeHee

Please Do Not Smoke in the Street

Lee JaeHee

Do you smoke? If you do, where do you usually smoke? I don’t smoke but I can often see many people smoke in the street.  When I pass by them, I feel bad because of the smell and seeing them just throw away their cigarette butts in the street. Therefore, I think smoking in the street should be banned.

The first and most important reason is to protect non-smokers.  If someone wants to use freedom, he or she has to respect other people’s freedom. As smokers have rights to enjoy smoking, non-smokers have rights to have fresh air too. Smokers have smoking areas so they can use those sections not in the street. And second hand smoking is not good for health. In studies, it has been discovered that second hand smoking has an effect 3 times worse than actual smoking. In the street, there are not only smokers’ families but also other people’s families and kids. So it is better to prohibit smoking in the street.

Not only that, we can prevent fire. It is known that fire has been caused by cigarette butts which are still burning. Many grasses, branches, or pieces of paper in the street can burn easily just by cigarette butts. If a fire is put out quickly, it’s okay. However, a fire can spread to buildings or shops so it can lead to serious damage.

In addition, banning smoking in the street can make better streets. When smokers stub out cigarette butts, cigarette burns are made on a street. They don’t look so beautiful and street cleaners have difficulties removing these smoking marks. If we ban smoking in the street, I think we can have much cleaner streets.

Some smokers assert that there are few smoking areas and they are using ashtrays. However, we can build more smoking areas for smokers. If smokers want, they can insist that their needs to city council or other organizations. And even though smokers have ashtrays, they can’t use them in the street. Most ashtrays are in some rooms or buildings and many smokers don’t bring their own ashtrays.

In conclusion, smoking in the street should be banned for non-smokers’ health in order to prevent fire, and make clearer streets. There are smoking areas and some rooms where people can smoke, so smokers can use those places when they want to smoke, not in the street. In my opinion, if regulations or policies prohibiting smoking in the street are established, we can protect non-smokers, our environment, and in streets.