Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal. To what extent do you agree?

Band 7.5 – 8.0

Main ideas

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

• Although there are health reasons to ban smoking, the writer believes there is a stronger argument for keeping smoking legal.

Paragraph 2

• Smoking should be a matter of personal choice, not government control.
• The government should advise people, not force decisions on them.

Paragraph 3

• Banning smoking could lead to a black market and increased crime.
• Addicted smokers would still try to obtain cigarettes illegally.

Paragraph 4

• Smoking is harmful to both smokers and passive smokers.
• However, other harmful products (fast food, alcohol) are not banned, so banning smoking would limit consumer freedom.

Paragraph 5 (Conclusion)

• Overall, banning smoking would cause more harm than good.
• The government should focus on education campaigns instead of prohibition.

• Introduction: There are clear arguments for banning smoking, based largely on health, but there is perhaps a stronger case to be made for maintaining the current situation, as will now be explained.

• Body Paragraph 1: The most important factor for keeping smoking legal is that the decision to smoke is not something that should be controlled by the government, but by the individual. If a person decides to smoke, they do so of their own free will and this should be respected, as it is the government's role to advise against harmful practices, but ultimately not to make decisions for its citizens.

• Body Paragraph 2: The other reason for allowing smoking is that by making laws against it is more likely to result in the sale of tobacco moving to the black market, and consequently increasing the level of associated crime. There will still be people who cannot overcome their addiction, and will search for any means available to access cigarettes. A clear example of this reaction can be seen in the illegal sale of other drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.

• Body Paragraph 3: Of course, there is the fact that smoking is known to have adverse health effects on both the smoker and those around them who are affected by passive smoking. Yet there are other lifestyle choices that also have a negative impact, such as fast food and alcohol, and banning these items would restrict the choice available to the consumer.

• Conclusion: In conclusion, the decision to ban smoking, although having some advantages, would be more likely to have an overall negative effect. It would therefore be better for the government to continue campaigns that educate people about the potential dangers of the habit.