midterm portfolio – third draft

8/2/2019 Midterm Portfolio Third Draft

1/4

Midterm Portfolio Third Draft

Raymond Harari

02/20/2012

Damn it, my lighter is not working, Ill have to stop by the grocery store

and Ill be late for work. Im down to my last ciggy. I need to restock urgently.

If I dont get a smoke right now, Im literally gonna die. These are commonphrases heard daily from smokers. A better term should be found for this kind of

people, maybe cigarette slaves? How is it possible that people prioritize this

malign habit over work, social life and even family? It isnt their fault. Just like

the other 1.1 Billion smokers around the world1, its probably not their choice

either, but theyre addicted to it. It is widely acknowledged that cigarettes harmthe smoker, but what is not as known is that this destructive habit also harms

their peers, in other words, us. You could argue that harming yourself or not is

strictly your decision, but it is inexcusable to harm others. Each and every citizen

has the right to be safe, and the entity in charge of enforcing this is no other than

the government. Over the past years the government has taken measures to

reduce smoking, but this vague attempt has shown only feeble results. It is timefor our government to stand strong for its citizens, and do what is right toprotect them. The government should once and for all ban cigarettes.

Smoking is very bad for your health. Many diseases are directly correlated

to the use of cigarettes. The surgeon general of the US Health department

reported that among the different types of cancers caused by smoking are

bladder, oral, cervical, pancreatic, kidney, lung and a myriad of other cancers2.

These are diseases that could possibly kill anyone and even if they dont, they

will deteriorate their lives. It also causes several other negative effects such as

reduced fertility, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, dental diseases,ulcers and more illnesses of that sort. So the question that arises is: If its so bad

for you and has no benefits, why do so many people do it? Well, there is astraightforward answer for this question. Good, no, GREAT propaganda.

Successful propaganda has ben able to shape consumers minds into believing

what the producer wants them to3. This strategy has worked wonders for

cigarette companies such as Marlboro and Camel4. These companies somehow

manage to drag consumers into thinking smoking is cool. After a while the

consumers realize that its taking a big toll on their health, but when they dotheyre already addicted and cannot quit. As the leader of its country, the

government has the responsibility to take care of its citizens. The US governmenthas taken measures to stop this, but those measures havent been effective5. If

the government just bans cigarettes, once and for all, itll benefit all of its citizens.

Smoking is not only unhealthy for yourself, but also for your fetus,

whether firsthand or secondhand smoke. "Smoking cigarettes is probably the No.

1 cause of adverse outcomes for babies," says Robert Welch, chairman of the

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Providence Hospital in Southfield,

Michigan6. Dr. Welch says hed rather have a patient with diabetes or high blood

pressure than a smoker, because he can control those diseases with medications,

but he cant protect the baby from a smoking mother. Smoking affects the baby

because it tightens the blood vessels, the only source of nutrients for the baby,


2/4

and sends nicotine and over 4000 chemicals that hurt him/her. Smoking

increases the chances of premature births, stillbirths, underweight babies, heart

disease and brain malfunctions. There is no reason for us to make that choice for

the baby, and not give him/her a chance to be born normal. How would you feel

being born with defects because your parents were reckless and smoked during

their pregnancy? Everyone wants a fair chance at life, and if your parents are

inconsiderate enough to not care, then the responsibility falls on thegovernment. The government has to protect all of its citizens, even if theyre still

in their mothers womb. These fetuses not only represent our future, but

possibly our leaders. They must be kept safe. By banning cigarettes the

government will save innocent newborns.

One of the arguments that could come up against banning cigarettes is

that this law will be violated just as the anti-alcohol law was during prohibition.

But this doesnt make sense. Drinking is a habit done mostly at night and for fun,

and acquiring a drinking addiction is very hard. In contrast, smokers will have

the necessity of smoking all day. Its much harder to hide the habit of smoking, or

starting a cigarette black market than it ever was for alcohol, hence the cigaretteprohibition will be effective.

If smoking was a decision made by a fully rational individual, one could

argue that since it was made consciously, you should be allowed to damage

yourself if you dont bother anyone. But the truth is that most of the smokers

start this imprudent habit before the age of 18. These kids that begin smoking

have no idea what theyre getting into. These kids are in no position to make

such a big decision for themselves. Cigarette advertisements, movies, Formula 1

drivers sponsored by cigarettes and celebrities are among the main smoking

influences for young children. The Illinois health department has reported thatover 90% of smokers start before the age of 18, and the average is 137. Just

imagine taking life decisions like the age of 13. I find it outrageous for a kid todecide to get married when he is 13 years old and there is a reason why these

serious decisions are not made that early. Even if we are not able to prevent

children from smoking entirely, delaying their decision will give them some extra

years of life8. It is not acceptable that the government allows children to be

influenced into such bad habits. The government is jeopardizing childrens

freedom and success by keeping cigarettes legal. The government isinadvertently sending a message of approval to all their young citizens. The

government should ban cigarettes and send out the right message to society.

Since smokers start at a young age, perhaps it would be wise to just ban

cigarettes for underage citizens. This wouldnt work either. The idea is to set aprecedent towards the consumption of cigarettes. If a youth knows that at some

point in his life hell be able to legally smoke, he wont hesitate starting when he

is young. We see this with alcohol. Kids know they will eventually be able to

legally drink, and they also see adults drinking, so they start drinking regardless

of the age restriction. More than 70% of teens have had alcohol9. We can clearly

see a smoking ban will be successful, even though the alcohol one wasnt.


3/4

We can analyze this subject from an even broader point of view. It is

obviously easier to begin smoking than to break the habit and stop. So if this is

not halted, maybe well end up in a world full of smokers, people with diseases, a

dirty environment and countless time wasted. Today, we live in a competitive

world, where the slightest advantage might mean the difference between being

superfluous or not. We have to make an effort not to be discarded, like millions

have. If the government allows us to be unproductive, we will all becomeunnecessary and the world will go to chaos. Even if the ban is not passed now,

we should be aware of how bad this is for us and teach our children. One day we

will benefit from this effort. In the long run everyone will be thankful, even the

smokers.

Sources:

1. http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tobaccostatistics/a/tobaccofacts.htm2. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2004/pdfs/executivesu

mmary.pdf

3.

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/bernprop.html4. http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1848212_1777633,00.html

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_tobacco_by_the_U.S._Food_and_Drug_Administration

6. http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-smoking-during-pregnancy-affects-you-and-your-baby_1405720.bc

7. http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbsmoke.htm8. http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0127.pdf9. http://www.toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov/families/facts/statistics.aspx

Outline

Proposition: The government should ban cigarettes.

Plan: Provide 5 reasons that support the proposition

Goal: Convince the reader of why cigarettes should be illegal

Audience: Writing seminar class and instructor.

Paragraph 1:

Says: Smoking causes a financial burden on us, its a waste of time and we do itbecause we are addicted to the habit. Due to all this reasons, smoking should be

banned.

Does: Introduces essay by engaging people using interesting quotes used bysmokers daily, and then introduces proposition.

Paragraph 2:

Says: Its very unhealthy to smoke, many diseases are caused directly due to

smoking. Since the government cares about the health of its citizens, and is

trying to avoid superfluousness, cigarettes should be banned.

Does: Supports Reason 1 and shows evidence.


4/4

Paragraph 3:

Says: Smoking may deform and cause diseases to fetuses. The government has to

protect those fetuses from being hurt, so they should be banned.

Does: Supports Reason 2 and shows evidence.

Paragraph 4:

Says: Banning cigarettes might lead people into thinking that it will be badbecause of previous bans such as the prohibition but cigarettes and alcohol are

not the same, therefore the banning of cigarettes will be successful regardless of

past history events.

Does: Brings up counter-argument and refute it

Paragraph 5:

Says: Smoking propaganda influences immature children to start smoking, so

they dont make a rational decision when they start the habit. It is not fair for

them to allow them to make such a big decision in their lives so young, and since

90% of the smoking population starts under 18, almost all smokers started in an

irrational period of their lives.Does: Supports Reason 4 and shows evidence.

Paragraph 6:

Says: Banning cigarettes for underage people is not a solution, since they know

that theyll eventually be able to smoke, so they will start anyways. Evidence for

this is alcohol, since its illegal for underage people and more than 70% of

underage citizens drink.

Does: Brings up another counter-argument and refutes it.

Paragraph 7:Says: Not only should we make smoking illegal, but we should also have the

desire not to do it to have a competitive advantage over our peers in such acompetitive world.

Does: Ends the Essay with a broader thought about the propositions benefits.

Changes from previous draft

y Eliminated two reasons that supported the wrong proposition, andwerent as strong.

y Cut down words to make the maximum.y Added a Paragraph that refutes the strongest counter arguments.y Added missing things in the outline.y Revised the paper to make it final.

midterm portfolio – third draft

Documents