Smoking, No or Yes?

There has been a huge diversity as to whether people should smoke or not. As everybody knows smoking can cause long term damage to lungs and other organs in the body over a long period of time.

Yet in the begining of the twentieth century smoking was encouraged as a socially acceptable thing. In black and white cinema, cigarettes were shown as the phallic sexy things that actors such as Humphey Bogart and James Cagney smoked that they were amourous rebels that everyone should aspire to follow.

It was only when the dangers of passive smoking in relation to non smoking cancer sufferers deaths were acknowleged that a sea change occured where now the law and social convention stop people from being able to smoke.

Should you stop smoking if you have already started?

Organizations such as the NHS say yes, but other smokers organizations such as ASH and FORREST say no, it is an individuals' right to smoke as long as it is done away from nonsmokers and does not hurt anyone.

So if you want to smoke and the law says it is still allowed at the monment then it is up to you.