This has been at the heart of discussions for years and with good reason. Scientists have researched smoking and found evidence that links smoking cigarettes to increased risks of lung cancer, heart disease and bronchitis. While most people are aware of the risks of smoking there are still people who continue to ignore the facts and keep on smoking. Not only are they endangering their own health but they put other peoples health at risk with what's called second hand smoke, which can be just as deadly as smoking itself.

Smoking bans have spread over several countries throughout the world due to the risks caused by second hand smoke. Many public places have been rid of smokers so that those who don't smoke aren't subject to the risks involved. There have since been an increased number in successful smoking stories, many people have quit and have found it easier to stay of the cigarettes since there is no 'temptation' surrounding them. Between 1965 and 1990 the percentage of US smokers declined 40% but that number has been stuck since then. In the year 2005 21% of adults were smoking which had been unchanged since the 90's.

However, in the UK it seems people are taking smoking stories more seriously and have seen a drop in percentages throughout the years going from just under half of the population to now just under a quarter of the population that continue to smoke. It seems the harsh facts of smoking are slowly but surely getting through to the public and with the help of the smoking bans and consistent media coverage smokers will soon have no option but to stop.

So why doesn't the government just ban smoking? Wouldn't that be the easiest thing to do? Of course it would be the easy thing to do but it'd also be a very expensive thing to do as well. Smokers currently pay a high amount of tax on each packet of cigarettes they purchase. In America people pay for their own health insurance so the government makes far too much money for them just to stop selling cigarettes.

In the UK however, the national health service suffers blows each and every year by diseases caused by smoking, however, that's still not a deterrent for the government to quit the sale of cigs because the UK taxpayers pay for it out of their own pocket. The best the government can do is to plough millions of (again tax payers) money into advertising, web sites and the reinforcement officers for the smoking bans to get their message across.

With unchanging figures in the US there needs to be more done to help smokers quit, whether it be nicotine patches, one on one therapy or even hypnotherapy, actions needs taken now to save the generations of the future. Nicotine is a drug like any other except it's a legal drug, maybe someone needs to look into that and change the way the system works. Until then though, smoking stories will plague the news and more scientific research about the harsh truths of smoking will continue to be ignored.