Thank You for Smoking Essay -- Peter Brimelow Tobacco Health Essays

Thank You for SmokingTake another drag. Thats good for you. One might not hear that everyday, but Peter Brimelows Thank You for Smoking? is a very well written deductive argument that may have you believe that statement by the time youre done reading his article. Brimelows argument is distinctly inductive because he presents his samples right outdoor(a) which lead to generalizations that are drawn from those examples (McFadden). Brimelow comes right out early in the argument and informs the reader smoking can be beneficial to ones health (141). Brimelow makes it clearly evident throughout the article that smoking is good for ones health which is his major claim. The major claim is also known as a thesis (McFadden). Because most Americans have heard repetitively from the time they were little that smoking is bad for your health, Brimelow needs to provide valuable information to sway his audience. In this argument, he does a really good job of doing just that. Brimelow uses grounds, which are evidence and facts that support the major claim, to back up his argument (McFadden 2003) Parkinsons illness among smokers appears to be half the rate of non-smokers. Alzheimers disease has been found to be as much as 50% less among smokers than non-smokers. Smoking may be responsible for what appears to be a 50% lower rate of prostate cancer among smokers (142). These were a few of the statistics Brimelow provided to show how smoking may help stop certain diseases. He didnt stop there. On page 141 Brimelow documented the outcome of studies performed by D.M. Warburton that showed cigarettes to stimulate alertness, dexterity, and cognitive capacity. These grounds presented by Brimelow attract the audience... ...ke away from the power of Brimelows argument.Overall, Brimelow has a strong argument going here. He clearly has stated his claim and has strengthened it with powerful grounds, warrants, and backing. He exhibited skill in providing qualifiers and br inging up rebuttals and counter-claims. Brimelow falls short in a few areas of the argument. By using some fallacies and hasty generalizations Brimelow takes away from his strong argument. With some modifications in a few areas Brimelow would have a very good argument.Works CitedBrimelow, Peter, Thank You for Smoking...? The Genre of Argument Ed. Irene L. Clark Boston Thomson/Heinle, 1998. 141-143Clark, Irene L. The Genre of an Argument. Boston Thomson/Heinle, 1998.McFadden, James. The Toulmin Method From neoclassic Logic toModern Argumentation. 2003. Buena Vista University. Storm Lake, IA