Re:FDA Moves to Ban All Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars
by hellotomyrars on Thursday April 29, 2021 @05:59PM
(#26987347)
The victims of secondhand smoke aren't someone standing on the street next to a smoker but people (and pets) who grow up in a household with smokers. Whether or not the numbers are what they are claimed to be it's hard to argue against the reality that thousands of children are subjected to the very real harms of secondhand smoke their entire childhood with no recourse, especially when they are most vulnerable.
I don't say this to say we should ban tobacco because "think of the children" but I genuinely think people seriously overlook this aspect. Someone smoking near you as an adult might be obnoxious but children in smoking households suffer and develop lifelong health problems for a vice that is entirely out of their control that many people don't even really see as a problem or think about.
The better argument is that the actual social behavior of smoking is contagious, as any social behavior is.