Hi my name is Nikhith Nookala and I am on the opposition side for this debate. I am here to debate that cigarettes should NOT be made illegal. I have three contentions to support my viewpoint.

Assertion 1: Cigarette purchases have decreased because the states like New Jersey have been increasing the tax on them. This way, not as many people buy cigarettes and those who do provide states with more revenue.

Evidence: According to the NJ treasury, cigarette sales have dropped over 40% since shooting cigarette prices upwards. Whereas cigarettes used to cost two dollars or so, they now can cost over ten dollars. People who usually buy cigarettes can't afford to pay that much money.

Assertion 2: It is human nature to find loop holes and bend the rules. If we make cigarettes illegal, smokers will find some loophole to get their cigarettes illegally. This will promote and fund the black market even more!

Evidence: Think about a rule you have in your household. If you are a kid and you are locked out of all devices, you'll do anything to find the password to prove your parents wrong. Even I do that at home. I'm tempted to break the rules. There is nothing wrong with the thought; it is just human nature. But, cigarettes have additives and ingredients like nicotine, that make cigarettes more addictive(a lot more addictive than video games). How do you think the addicted smokers are going to react. They want cigarettes so they'll find loop holes or smuggle them into the U.S. If cigarettes are not made illegal, smokers wouldn't even get the idea of smuggling them. It is not how humans usually think.

Assertion 3: Making cigarettes illegal would be sacrificing the jobs of all the tobacco farm workers in the south and reducing the government's yearly revenue by a lot.

Evidence: According to the USDA, there are approximately 90,000 tobacco leaf farms in the U.S. These farms not only sustain the lives of millions, but provide a significant amount of revenue for the government. According to the New York Times, about 19 billion dollars have been collected by the U.S government from cigarette taxes. If we ban cigarettes, you would be sacrificing the lives of millions while diminishing the government's ability to better our communities and public areas. Would you rather have a couple hundred thousand people die from smoking or millions die because they can't support themselves financially? And, since cigarettes are not being purchased as much as before, not as many people are dying. We don't need to make cigarettes illegal. Doing so would just promote chaos.

Now to recap my points:

1. Cigarette purchases have decreased because the states like New Jersey have been increasing the tax on them. This way, not as many people buy cigarettes and those who do provide states with more revenue.

2. It is human nature to find loop holes and bend the rules. If we make cigarettes illegal, smokers will find some loophole to get their cigarettes illegally. This will promote and fund the black market even more!

3. Making cigarettes illegal would be sacrificing the jobs of all the tobacco farm workers in the south and reducing the government's yearly revenue by a lot.

My name is Nikhith Nookala and for these reasons, the opposition side has clearly... won the debate. Thank You!

For the assertion of secondhand smoking, you do not need to ban cigarettes to stop secondhand smoking. People choose to stay in an area where someone is smoking. You can easily walk away at any time. In addition, if the government shows the public more ads about babies that have gotten these birth defects, that would be enough to convince smoking moms to stop. After all, a mom loves her child like no other.

-Nikhith