Editor 's note : Tony Newman is the director of media relations at the Drug Policy Alliance Network . Tony Newman says cigarettes kill more people than drugs that are illegal . NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Cigarettes kill ; 400,000 people die prematurely every year from smoking . When we analyze the harm from drugs , there is no doubt that cigarettes are the worst . They kill more people than cocaine , heroin , methamphetamine and all other illegal drugs combined . More than 800,000 people are arrested every year for marijuana , the vast majority for possession , yet all the data from studies that compare the two substances show that cigarettes are more harmful to an individual 's health . If we make these other drugs illegal , should n't we outlaw the leading killer ? Considering how we deal with less harmful drugs , making cigarettes illegal seems logical . Over the past decade , we have seen , in states from California to New York , increasing restrictions on when and where people can smoke -- and even momentum toward tobacco prohibition . Smoking is banned in bars and restaurants and on some university campuses . People can now be fired from their jobs because they ca n't give up smoking . We have seen parents denied adoption rights if they smoke . In some cities , it is nearly impossible to smoke anywhere besides your own home . The Drug Policy Alliance sponsored a Zogby Poll in 2006 , and we were shocked to find that 45 percent of those polled supported making cigarettes illegal within the next 10 years . Among 18- to 29-year-olds , it 's more than 50 percent . But with all of the good intentions in the world , outlawing cigarettes would be just as disastrous as the prohibition on other drugs . After all , people would still smoke , just as they still use other drugs that are prohibited , from marijuana to cocaine . But now , in addition to the harm of smoking , we would find a whole range of `` collateral consequences '' that come along with prohibition . A huge number of people who smoke would continue to do so , but now they would be considered criminals . We would have parents promising their kids that they will stop smoking but still sneaking a smoke . We would have smokers hiding their habit and smoking in alleys and dark corners , afraid of being caught using the illegal substance . We would have cops using precious time and resources to hassle and arrest cigarette smokers . Our prison overcrowding crisis would rise to an unprecedented level with `` addicts '' and casual cigarette smokers alike getting locked up . We would have a black market , with outlaws taking the place of delis and supermarkets and stepping in to meet the demand and provide the desired drug . Instead of buying your cigarettes in a legally sanctioned place , you would have to hit the streets to pick up your fix . The cigarette trade would provide big revenue to `` drug dealers , '' just as illegal drugs do today . There would be shootouts in the streets and killings over the right to sell the prohibited tobacco plant . We have tried prohibiting cigarettes in some state prisons , like in California , and we have seen that smoking continues , with cigarettes traded illicitly . There is a violent black market that fills the void and leads to unnecessary deaths over access and the inflated profits . Luckily , no one is proposing making cigarettes illegal . On the contrary , our public health campaign around cigarettes has been a model of success compared with our results with other prohibited drugs . By placing high taxes on cigarettes , restricting locations where one can smoke and banning certain kinds of advertising , we have seen a significant decline in the number of people who smoke . Instead of giving teens `` reefer madness '' -style propaganda , we have treated young people with respect and given them honest education about the harm of cigarettes , and we have been rewarded with fewer young people smoking today than ever before . Although we should celebrate our success and continue to encourage people to cut back or give up smoking , let 's not get carried away and think that prohibition would eliminate smoking . We need to realize that drugs , from cigarettes to marijuana to alcohol , will always be consumed , whether they are legal or illegal . Although drugs have health consequences and dangers , making them illegal -- and keeping them illegal -- will only bring additional death and suffering . Do n't just take my word for it . Take it from the news anchor who was called the most trusted man in America , Walter Cronkite . Here is what he said about prohibition and our war on drugs : `` I covered the Vietnam War . I remember the lies that were told , the lives that were lost -- and the shock when , 20 years after the war ended , former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara admitted he knew it was a mistake all along . ... `` And I can not help but wonder how many more lives , and how much more money , will be wasted before another Robert McNamara admits what is plain for all to see : The war on drugs is a failure . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Tony Newman .
Tony Newman : Drugs kill 100 Americans a day . He says the toll is heavier than for drugs like marijuana that are illegal . He says anti - smoking campaigns are effective without prohibiting smoking . Newman : War on drugs causes additional death and suffering .