BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Currently there have been numerous studies on the effects that secondhand smoke can have on nonsmokers, and the results of these studies prove the dangerousness of smoking on both sides. Awareness is growing and the City Council of Columbia took a stand on October 10th, 2006 and prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants, and many other public places giving nonsmokers a chance to live healthier. As a local government, the City Council believed it was their responsibility to protect the health and safety of its community from secondhand smoke. Columbia business owners speculated that the new ban would hurt their sales, but the council saw no true evidence that this would occur. Therefore, this new ordinance took effect on January 9th, 2007 and the rights of business owners, and those of people engaging in legal behavior such as smoking were no longer allowed to partake in this activity indoors. This ban prohibits damaging nonsmoker’s health rights (Smoking ban). Therefore, the smoking ban in Columbia, Missouri should be retained because it will ensure a healthier indoor environment for all citizens without declining local business sales.
REASONING
As previously mentioned, secondhand smoke has proven to cause a significant amount of harm to nonsmokers. Studies have shown that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30 percent and increase their chances of getting lung cancer by 20-30 percent. These risks are of major concern to public health due to the fact that nearly half of all nonsmoking Americans are still regularly exposed to secondhand smoke; even brief exposure to smoke damages cells (U.S. Department). Another study revealed that seco ...