Should we allow smoking in public places? This is an important question being discussed in American society today. This article compares two totally different opinions.
The first opinion is held by Joseph Califano, past United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, who believes that smoking shouldn't be allowed in public places. Califano states that "People should not be forced to breathe other's smoke." He supports his opinion with numbers, such as, "5, 000 Americans die each year because of other people's smoke." He believes that this is something we can't ignore. He, therefore, supports the restriction of smoking in every public place, including schools, hospitals, theaters, and other work areas, with extra sections for smokers. According to Califano, the cost of controlling smoking wouldn't be very high. Califano even thinks that people will save money by reducing illness. The idea would be to protect non-smokers. He has said "People who smoke are slowly killing themselves. The point is to prevent their smoking from becoming a slow murder of others."
The second opinion is against controlling smoking in public places. Paul Screvane, former president of the New York City Council, sees the problem in a different way. He takes the view that restricting smoking in public places "would set up two classes of citizens and would make many people angry". A law to stop smoking in public places could not be enforced, because the police are too busy. Screvane says that he can find "no facts that prove smoke from other people is a danger". He says that scientists could not prove that cigarette smoke is dangerous to other people who don't smoke. He states that people working in the same office must sit near each other, and the cost of changing offices to avoid smoke is too great. Screvane, a heavy smoker himself, would lose too much time if he had to go to a special area three or four times an hour. He believes that creating no smoking areas would cost too much money and waste too much time.
These two men, it seems, will never agree. They fight each other, and at the same time defend their own opinions with examples, numbers, and personal experience. There are no similarities in their ideas, except perhaps the point about smoking in restaurants. Screvane believes that smoking in restaurants should be stopped, if many customers demand it. Califano wishes to protect people's health from the dangers of smoke. He cares a lot about public health and safety. Screvane cares about creating different classes of people in society, about money, and about time, but he never talks about public health and safety.
I agree with Califano that people at work should have a smoke-free place if they want it. I also believe that companies could save money when their workers are not wasting time in smoking. Non-smokers should even get more money, because smokers stop working every time they light a cigarette.
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background information:
New York City is the largest city and chief port of the USA. It is located in New York State next to the Atlantic Ocean at the point where the Hudson River joins the East River. The city has five parts: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queen’s, Brooklyn and Richmond. New York is one of the world’s busiest ports. It is America’s center for finance, business and tourism. Try the web site http://www.nyu.gov and you will learn more about New York’s buildings, parks, beaches and people.
