Why is Smoking legal?

Why is Smoking legal?

Tobacco production and its marketing provide a source of income to most of the countries. When United States was colonized by the Europeans people did not have a little idea that smoking was harmful to their health. Even after knowing about the damage tobacco can cause to the human health, tobacco companies did not restrict themselves from selling it. There are also people who cannot quit tobacco even if they know it is harmful to their health. The only way to keep people away from it is to make them realize that they have got addicted to a harmful drug and it is necessary for them to come out of the problem.

Smoking is legal for people of certain age. The legal age varies from country to country. It is considered illegal for a person under age 18 to smoke while it is legal to purchase a cigarette in Australia at that age. Again there is no restriction for consuming tobacco by those less than 18 years. Some of the natural herbs are present which are used for smoking. These herbs are considered as exotic, potent and legal.

Smoking is legal as the government makes money due to the taxes levied on the cigarettes. So, the government is getting benefit out of the profits in the tobacco dealings due to the addiction of people to cigarettes. This is the reason why people were allowed to harm themselves. The tobacco industry itself is a huge money making business and fetches a lot of revenue to the government. This industry employs several people and will pay heavy taxes and hence is necessary for our economy to sustain. This is one of the reasons for making smoking legal.

When we talk about the harmful nature of smoking, many people argue that some people die during driving. Since driving will not be banned, so also smoking cannot be banned. In America, a thing is said to be illegal if it harms a person to an extent that the harm outweighs its benefits. Tobacco is a very big business which gives lot of income. Hence, smoking is legal.