Lions Club members, honorable judges and fellow speakers, thousands and thousands of people die every year in Canada and the world from poisonous fumes inhaled from cigarettes. Unfortunately, innocent people are dying who have never smoked a day in their lives. People who choose to infect themselves, are affects all of us, and it is not just a personal problem.
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Second-hand smoke in North America is causing many people their lives. Around one thousand Canadians die every year from diseases related to second-hand smoke (Diamond 134). An astonishing fifty-three thousand Americans die from diseases related to second-hand smoke (Diamond 134). Tobacco in general kills over forty-five thousand people in Canada each year. This number does not include people who suffer from tobacco related illnesses. This figure is more than the total of all murders, alcohol-related deaths, car accidents and suicides combined (Smoking 12). Second hand smoke is the equivalent to manslaughter or even first degree murder, some might say. Smokers are aware that second-hand smoke is just as bad as inhaling from a cigarette. They receive no repercussions for their actions. Their only divine retribution would be an early grave. Second hand smoke contains about four thousand chemicals and toxins, most of which are deadly (Gary McCuen 74). Once a cigarette is has been put out, second-hand smoke remains in the environment. It can cling to your clothes, hair, as well as the air around you. It is still toxic (Burton 45). Non-smokers have the right not to endure cruel and unusual punishment; also everyone has the right to life. These rights are being infringed upon when non-smokers are around a lit cigarette. Illnesses that can form from second-hand smoke include lung cancer, asthma, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, breast cancer, allergies and high blood pressure (Gelmon 150). Many Canadians are unaware of the seriousness of second hand smoke and the government is not doing everything it can do to inform its citizens (www.