Ban of Cigarette Smoking in Hong Kong
As of December 2019 cigarette smoking in Hong Kong had reduced by a margin of 20% from the year 2014. The survey conducted in January 2020, only 8% of the Hong Kongers were found smoking tobacco (Ho et al. 2019). This great reduction in the number of smokers is because of the awareness of the severe negative effects associated with the smoking of tobacco. The government has tried to come up with different methods and ways to discourage smoking of tobacco but this is not enough. There is need to totally ban the smoking of cigarettes in the city rather than just putting in place measures to discourage its consumption. The main reason why the cigarettes should be totally banned is that the smoking of tobacco has more negative effects than positive effects, and the negative effects include damaging of the respiratory system, damaging of cardiovascular system, damaging of digestive system, damage of central nervous system, and also damages on sexual and reproductive system (Ho et al. 2019). However in as much as smoking cigarettes have many adverse effects especially on the health, it also has some positive health impacts on the user only if used well and this to a point should discourage the ban of cigarette smoking. The positive impacts include weight control and increased chances of survival after one accidentally has gotten a heart attack.
To begin with, tobacco or cigarette smoking should be banned in Hong Kong because of the negative effects it has on the respiratory system of the users. The nicotine which is the main content in the cigarettes has the ability to destroy the lungs of the user if inhaled. It destroys the lungs because when inhaled the smoke goes directly to the lungs. This is where it is first received where there is exchange of air. The damage can be very severe if the tobacco is used for a long time. In addition to the damage it causes, it also increases the risk of contracting other chronic nonreversible lung conditions. This conditions include emphysema, which is the destruction of the air sacs in the lungs (Jiang et al. 2018). It can also lead to contracting of chronic bronchitis and this is the permanent inflammation that affects the lining of the breathing tubes of the lungs. Another adverse effect that tobacco has on the lungs is the lung cancer. Treating all these conditions can be very costly both to the individuals facing the problems, their families and even the government. The consequences of its consumption are not worth the pleasure and thus there is a great need to impose bans on tobacco smoking.
Secondly, smoking cigarettes should be banned in Hong Kong due to the damages it has on the cardiovascular system of the users. Smoking always damages the entire cardiovascular system of the user because of the nicotine substance. Nicotine has the effect of causing the blood vessels to tighten and this in turn restricts the blood flow. When this continues for a long time, and when the blood vessels become narrow and narrow, the condition causes peripheral artery disease (Jiang et al. 2018). This will at the end of the day cause a rise in the blood pressure, and development of weak blood vessel wall and increased blood clots. These are the main conditions that when put together can increase the risk of getting stroke, and stroke mostly leads to death of the person experiencing it. A person who has had a heart surgery before or someone who has stent placed in their heart can be at an increased risk of being in a worse condition if he or she continues to smoke. Worse of all, smoking also has cardiovascular effects on the people who are around the person who smokes, and these are what are called passive smokers. The risks even though they are not severe as those of an active smoker, exposure to the smoke of a long time can have almost such effects.
Smoking greatly destroys the nervous system of the user. This is again due the nicotine ingredient in the tobacco and it always have an effect altering the mood of the user and making the user feel extremely energized than his normal state at the time of consumption (Richard et al. 2017). It reaches the brain within very few seconds of consumption but as time elapses the effect reduces and wears off and it makes the user feel even more tired. The craving for more rises up again and as the person continually uses it becomes habitual and also very difficult to quit. The effect comes in now when there is physical withdrawal from nicotine. It greatly impairs the person’s cognitive functioning and makes the person feel anxious, depressed and irritated. Sometimes it even causes sleep problems and headaches. This a justifiable reason to have smoking banned in the entire Hong Kong because if not it will affect the mental health of the people and this will have an impact on the productivity of the nation.
Sexuality, reproductive and digestive system of the user are also always affected by smoking and these consequences are not worth the pleasure that a person experiences when he or she smokes. The digestive system is affected beginning from the mouth whereby the smoke increases the risk of getting mouth and esophagus cancer (Richard et al. 2017). The insulin is also affected and this also increases the risk of developing insulin resistance which at the end of the day can lead to higher chances of getting diabetes and this case the diabetes increases at a higher rate than in a person who don’t smoke. On the sexuality and reproductive system, nicotine affects the blood flow to the genitals of both men and women and this can reduce the sexual performance on the men and sexual dissatisfaction on women. It also reduces sex hormones of smokers and this can affect the ability to conceive.
On the other hand, there is also a need to think twice on the smoking ban issue because if smoking is used moderately and not abused especially to obese people, it greatly help to control the weight. This I because nicotine is always an appetite suppressant. This will help the user to void the use of snack which are mostly the main reason for obesity (Peter et al. 2016). It also makes the user eat less food. The ability to suppress appetite can help to control weight of obese people. Also, smoking lowers the risk of death after some heart attacks. Compared with non-smokers who have had heart attacks seem to have lower mortality rates and favorable responses to two kinds of therapy to remove plaque from their arteries.
In conclusion, in as much as there are few health benefits of smoking, which even do not apply to all the users, it is not convincing enough not to ban smoking in Hong Kong. This is because the negative health effects are so severe and they cut across every user. The damages of caused by smoking mainly takes place in the most crucial systems of the body such as respiratory system, cardiovascular system, reproductive and digestive system (Sun et al. 2020). It is not easy to treat complications in these systems and to avoid all this cigarette smoking in Hong Kong should be totally banned.
References
Ho, S. Y., Chen, J., Leung, L. T., Mok, H. Y., Wang, L., Wang, M. P., & Lam, T. H. (2019). Adolescent smoking in Hong Kong: prevalence, psychosocial correlates, and prevention. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(6), S19-S27.
Jiang, N., Cleland, C., Wang, M. P., Kwong, A., Lai, V., & Lam, T. H. (2018). E-cigarette perceptions, use frequency and susceptibility among young adults in Hong Kong. In World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH). BioMed Central Ltd. The Journal’s web site is located at http://isptid. globalink. org/journal/index. html.
Richard, N., Ho, S. Y., Wang, M. P., Leung, L. T., & Lam, T. H. (2017). The relationship of waterpipe use with cigarette smoking susceptibility and nicotine dependence: A cross-sectional study among Hong Kong adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 64, 123-128.
Jiang, N., Wang, M. P., Ho, S. Y., Leung, L. T., & Lam, T. H. (2016). Electronic cigarette use among adolescents: a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 202.
Sun, S., Cao, W., Chan, K. P., Ran, J., Ge, Y., Zhang, Y., … & Tian, L. (2020). Cigarette smoking increases deaths associated with air pollution in Hong Kong. Atmospheric Environment, 117266.