Now that we've identified the components of argument, we'll continue looking at both rhetorical choices as writers, and how to examine and unpack assumptions and warrants using the Toulmin method of a

Anthony Flores

English 5

Professor Georgie Ziff

April 27th, 2020

Arguing Both Sides 

Tobacco Products should be banned

According to TheHealthSite.com: “One of the number one reasons that smoking tobacco products is bad for your health is because it can lead to Cancer.” (TheHealthSite.com). Not only does it cause lung cancer but it also causes cancer of the mouth, nose, larynx (voice box), trachea, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, cervix, bone marrow and blood. A lot of the chemicals in the cigarette are known to be carcinogenic or cancer causing. When combining the chemicals with heat and smoke it can lead to mutations in your cells making them multiply in an uncontrollable manner causing cancer. Almost half a million Americans per year die from the use of cigarettes and we need to make a solution to this problem. Not only does it cause cancer but it just overall destroys your health and your body. It makes your bones brittle, it stains your teeth, causes bad breath and can even make you go blind. 

 Many adults are affected by the use of tobacco but I think the group that is in the most danger is the youth. The use of E-cigs has become quite popular to the youth. All these vape pens and devices are easy to obtain and they have a lot of fruity flavors to lure in youth. A strawberry vape pen sounds a lot more appealing than a pack of cigarettes. Even though this may be true the juul or vape device is probably worse for you due to the fact that you can continuously be hitting it and lose track of how long you hit it. I think that these devices are misleading because it gives you the illusion that you are being healthier but in reality, you are smoking the same or even more than you would if you were just smoking cigs. 

Smoking should be banned because it causes disasters. According to History&Headlines: “Smokers are 7 times more likely to have a house fire than non-smokers. About 1000 Americans die each year from smoking related home fires. The NFPA says smoking causes 90,000 fires per year in the US, and that 90% of wildfires in the US are caused by smoking (History&Headlines). Also, a lot of people that smoke tend to toss their cigs on the ground. When I walk around I see so many cigs on the ground I can see why smokers are 7 times more likely to have a house fire. 

Tobacco Products Shouldn’t Be Banned

According to History&Headlines: “46.6 million Americans smoke and that isn’t including the chewing tobacco” (History&Headlines). Millions of people use tobacco as an escape or as a stress reliever. You cannot just simply ban something that some many Americans already rely on because then there would be chaos. Society accepts that adults can decide whether or not to harm themselves to some extent, so long as they do not harm others. Passive smokers do choose to breathe in others smoke. If they don’t want to smoke passively, they do not need to go to places where smoking is allowed. There is no reason that smoking should be banned in public.   

According to History&Headlines: “In 2013, the government collected $43.9 billion in tobacco tax revenue, and over half a trillion dollars since 1998 (History&Headlines). If we removed tabacco the tobacco users would not be supplying that money anymore meaning that it’s going to have to come from somewhere else or the government spending would be cut. If the government spending gets cut that will cause the amount of employment in the public to decrease. If we have away the tobacco industry, we will also be taking away people’s jobs. All the tobacco farmers will be out of a job. If we ban production, then people in other countries will take the hit.

We cannot just ban something that is used for religious purposes. History&Headlines says that, “Native Americans use tobacco in religious ceremonies. We would not want to limit the practice of their faith or stigmatize any part of it.” The government has to give the right freedom of religion and banning tobacco would be going against that.   

Bibliography

Sampath, Pavitra. “10 Reasons Smoking Is Bad for You.” TheHealthSite.com, Thehealthsite, 31 May 2017, www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/10-reasons-smoking-is-bad-for-you-144092/.

Dan, Major. “10 Reasons Tobacco Should Be Banned Or Not Banned.” History and Headlines, 16 June 2016, www.historyandheadlines.com/10-reasons-tobacco-banned-banned/.