Persuasive Paper: Smoking, Outline Example

Introduction

• Life is only given once, thus, one should not underestimate the importance of responsible life choices.
• The pleasure from smoking is temporary but consequences remain for lifetime

Thesis: People should stay away from smoking because any benefits from smoking pale in comparison to the costs at both individual and social level

Body 1

• Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death (Martin).
• Increases the risk of heart diseases, stroke, and chronic lung cancer
• Responsible for 20 percent of deaths among Americans (Martin)
• 10 percent of global male population dies from smoking-related diseases (Martin)

Body 2

• As members of the society, we have an ethical and moral obligation to protect others from the negative consequences of our actions
• Smoking doesn’t only harm smokers but also non-smokers (Wanjek).
• 42,000 deaths in the U.S. due to second-hand smoking
• The cost to each non-smoker who died prematurely is 14.2 years of life

Body 3

• By abstaining from smoking, adults set good examples for children
• Children of parents who smoke, are more likely to adopt smoking (Jacobson, Warner and Lantz)
• 3,000 new American kids become smokers on a daily basis (Martin, 20 Shocking Smoking Facts)

Conclusion

• Smoking is a costly habit both in terms of economic and health terms
• Smokers do not only harm themselves but also others around them
• Adults have an obligation to set good examples for children and build a better future for them

Works Cited

Jacobson, Peter D., et al. Combating Teen Smoking: Research and Policy Strategies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.

Martin, Terry. 20 Shocking Smoking Facts. 3 March 2011. 11 August 2013 <http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tobaccostatistics/a/tobaccofacts.htm>.

Global Smoking Statistics. 28 January 2007. 11 August 2013 <http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/antismoking/a/statistics_2.htm>.

Wanjek, Christopher. Secondhand Smoke Kills 42,000 Nonsmokers a Year in US. 28 September 2012. 11 August 2013 <http://www.livescience.com/23562-secondhand-smoke-kills-nonsmokders.html>.