On average 26% of Americans smoke, leaving behind restaurants, bars and numerous other places covered in a thick blanket of smoke filled with deadly toxins and carcinogens for the remaining 73 % of Americans breathing. Cigarette smoking, at any level of exposure, can have deadly consequences, yet it is allowed almost everywhere, including parks and restaurants frequented by innocent children. Cigarette smoke and its toxins seep into carpets, furniture and even leave white walls tainted yellow from tar. These toxins left behind by cigarette smoke persist long after the smoke has dissipated. Cigarette butts are strewn across almost every street and ashtrays are usually full and overflowing. Every year smokers are responsible for fires that burn hundreds of acres and many homes, and which could have been prevented. American smokers have made smoking a normal, everyday activity that children around the world grow up observing and accepting as normal. This makes children much more likely to acquire the same habit. Non-smokers and children around the world are exposed to deadly second-hand smoke on a daily basis. There is nowhere left to go where we can be safe from this silent killer. Smoking should not be permitted in public places due to the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke, the negative impact smoking has on the environment, and the potential health risks faced by the smoker. Smoking in public places should not be allowed because it exposes non-smokers to second-hand smoke. Smoking is supposed to be a choice; however, this is no longer the case. Everywhere Americans turn there is another smoker polluting the ever-precious air that we humans need to survive. Nonsmokers have virtually no choice about which… middle of paper… Potential loss of life and productivity losses: United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8.2. Colgrove. James, Ronald Bayer, and Kathleen E. Bachynski. “Is there nowhere left to hide? The banning of smoking from public spaces”. The New England Journal Of Medicine 364.25 (2011):2375-2377.3. US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking: a report from the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Officeon Smoking and Health, 2004.4. Smith, Elizabeth, Patricia A. McDaniel. “Covering Your Butt: Answers to the Cigarette Waste Problem.” Tobacco control 2011: 100-106.