As of 2002, more than 430,000 people die each year from tobacco – more than AIDS, alcohol, drugs, abuse, car accidents, murder, COMBINED suicides and fires (“Smoking”2). Scary, isn't it? That even though cigarettes can cause so many deaths, people still smoke them? Smoking is a serious problem in the United States. Especially when it's done in public. Smoking in public should be banned because it poses a danger to those around you. Smoking causes many problems. Not only for the smoker, but also for non-smokers exposed to smoke. In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, the most dangerous category of carcinogens. Around 600,000 people around the world die each year from second-hand smoke (“Smoking” 3). More people die from second-hand smoke than from smoking cigarettes themselves. In a roundabout way, smokers who smoke in public cause other people's deaths. Isn't this illegal? Secondhand smoke can also cause a variety of serious and deadly illnesses. Each year, more than 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and 35,000 to 62,000 deaths from heart attacks and respiratory tract infections are caused by inhaling second-hand smoke (“Passive Smoking” 2). Secondhand smoke only takes ten minutes to start damaging the heart. Ten minutes isn't a lot of time considering the amount of damage second-hand smoke can cause. During these ten minutes spent around the smoke, the smell sinks into the fabric of the clothes. The odor will then remain in the fabrics and other people will inhale it, including children. Smoking in public also affects children. "Reducing smoking among adults can eliminate patterns that lead children to light up" (Glaeser 2)....... middle of paper ......uction in second-hand smoke) oppose, then balancing, as on a seesaw, must be done to see if one public good or benefit outweighs the other” (Nowlan 3). Public health is more important. Why should one person hold the power to choose life or death for another person? What is proposed to solve the problem of smoking in public places? I say we ban everything, but that's not realistic. I say we ban smoking anywhere children are allowed. This includes outdoor restaurants, parks, playgrounds and outdoor stores. Allow smoking in casinos, because we all know the state needs as much money as possible, but provide a designated room for smokers so the public is not exposed. So, Indiana State Assembly, why not give it a try and see what happens? Or has all the exposure to second-hand smoke taken its toll on the brains of the people who keep our lungs and hearts safe ??