Editorial: Second-hand Smoke by Eva Ricardo

How would you feel if you got lung cancer and never smoked a cigarette in your life? Second-hand smoking is just as harmful as smoking your own cigarette. In 1997 second hand smoke caused 53,000 deaths in the United States and now has increased dramatically to 69,000 deaths per year for only second-hand smoke. Even though you may not have a family member who smokes around you, you can still get second-hand smoke from other places such as public parks, theme parks, farmers markets, college campuses, restaurants, and pools. Recreational areas should be a place for families, friends, and classmates to breathe fresh air and have fun. A way to improve second hand smoking and public health overall is by creating more smoke free spaces which will also reduce tobacco litter in the environment. It is highly recommended by disease control and prevention to ban smoking in recreational areas. Smoking in recreational areas can influence even young kids to start smoking. Statistics now say that 1 in 3 youth smokers will die from tobacco related disease. The risk of experiencing second-hand smoke doesn’t only happen inside but can also happen outside. Establishing laws to ban smoking in recreational areas provides safe environment for children and will stop influencing children to smoke. Smoking in public areas exposes children who mimic what they see and who are vulnerable. A law should be passed soon to ban public smoking in recreational areas or there will still be health issues related to smoking and second-hand smoke.