Can Smoking be prevented by making Tobacco Illegal

This assignment explores whether smoking can be prevented by making tobacco illegal. It will discuss the pros and cons of this argument and provide a conclusion based on the evidence.

Smoking is a major problem in society today. It is estimated that smoking causes around 480,000 deaths each year in the United States alone (1). This is a huge cost to society, both in terms of lives lost and also in financial terms. The cost of smoking-related healthcare is estimated to be around $170 billion each year (2). So, it is understandable why some people argue that making tobacco illegal would be an effective way to prevent smoking and save lives.

There are some potential benefits of making tobacco illegal. Firstly, it would reduce the number of smokers because it would become much harder to obtain cigarettes. This would lead to fewer people dying from smoking-related illnesses. It would also save the healthcare system a lot of money as fewer smokers would need treatment.

However, there are also some drawbacks to making tobacco illegal. For example, it would create a black market for cigarettes which could lead to other crimes being committed in order to get hold of them. It would also be difficult to enforce and would be very unpopular with many people.

Overall, it seems that making tobacco illegal could have some positive effects but also some negative ones. It is impossible to say definitively whether it would be an effective way of preventing smoking or not. However, it is worth considering as part of a wider strategy to reduce the harmful effects of smoking.