On a sunny day, you’re taking a walk, and suddenly you spot someone smoking. The smoke drifts towards you, the smell disgusts you, and you find yourself holding your breath. Moments like this make you realize the current restrictions on smoking aren’t effective.t

We’re exposed to secondhand smoke more than we should be. Even though it sounds less harmful than actually smoking, it still damages our bodies.

More smoking restrictions are needed in Taiwan. Smokers might argue, “There are already lots of rules! Smoking indoors isn’t allowed, and even some outdoor areas are limited.” This is true, but is it enough?

Why only ban smoking in particular areas? Since the harm caused by smoking is still serious, we should extend the ban on smoking to more public places.

Health Risks

In 2024, 13.1 percent of adults in Taiwan smoke, leading to 25,000 deaths per year, with 3,000 of deaths being non-smokers from secondhand smoke. What’s more, Taiwan is aging rapidly. In January 2024, the population over 65 was 18.43 percent. Smoking can speed up age-related health problems, such as lung cancer, COPD, and heart disease.

In addition, many teens start smoking before they turn 18. Teenagers might light up their first cigarette thinking it’s just a harmless decision, unaware it can lead to addiction and severe health problems. While teenagers might recognize there is some risk from smoking, they still do it from a desire to fit in, look cool, or feel rebellious.

Environmental Impact

If you’ve ever walked around any city in Taiwan, you know that cigarette butts are littered everywhere. They aren’t just unsightly, but also contain harmful chemicals that damage the ecosystem by leaching into soils and waterways.

If you think discarding cigarette butts isn’t a serious problem, then you’re wrong; cigarettes often start fires. For example, in 2023, a worker’s discarded cigarette butt sparked a fire at a Carrefour warehouse in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District. One cigarette butt can consume an entire forest, destroy homes, and take lives in just minutes, leaving nothing behind but only remains and loss.

Policies Taiwan Needs

Cigarettes aren’t just harming people’s health, they are also harming the environment. Therefore, to effectively address smoking, it’s important to promote strong policies. By creating a supportive environment, citizens can finally live in smoke-free areas.

Here’s what we should do:

1. Increase the price of tobacco products, so people may find it too expensive.
2. Set up strict policies to ban smoking in all public places with strict penalties.
3. Raise the legal age for smoking to 25 years old.
4. Ban cigarette sales in convenience stores near schools, universities, hospitals, and other places where public health, environmental protection, and vulnerable populations are at greatest risk.
5. Make plain packaging, by removing all advertisements or branding, and replace it with big health warnings instead. Studies have shown that plain packages can reduce the appeal of smoking.
6. Increase fines for littering and smoking in prohibited areas.
7. Make tobacco products an official exclusive product and limit legality to only three brands.
8. Increase anti-smoking education, and programs for people of all ages.

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Smokers get frustrated when people nag them about quitting, and often argue back “It’s a free country!” However, the next time you smoke, don’t forget about the health and environmental consequences that everybody else is forced to face. This issue is not only about smokers’ rights, others also have the right to breathe in fresh air. The government needs to set new policies, and smokers should stop being selfish.