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excessively. Clearly one of the goals of the Rio pact is to establish guidelines and policies to bring awareness
to countries like Japan.
The future of the environment is clearly in danger and the nations of the world are only beginning to
take notice. Industrialization brings wealth and comfort but it also brings carbon emissions and disregard
for finite resources. We can predict the future, but can we prevent disaster?
Use the rubric on page 143 to rate this essay. Did it answer the question? Does it use evidence from at
least four of the documents? Is it organized? Are the facts and details relevant to the arguments? How does
your essay compare?
Answer to Smoking on page 26
For many years, physicians and tobacco companies have known that smoking is linked to serious long-term
health problems. Yet the tobacco companies keep marketing cigarettes to young people, hoping to develop
future consumers. The money incentive far outweighs the quality of life issues. But it is time for big tobacco
to recognize its role in contributing to the health of the future. Teenage smoking has long-term consequences,
which will cause irreparable harm because tobacco is an addictive substance, causes major organ damage
such as heart disease and causes oral cancers.
First, the concept of addiction must be considered. For years the tobacco companies have denied that
nicotine is an addictive substance. They don t want their product compared to alcohol or heroin. But just
like illegal drugs, nicotine is addictive. Ask anyone who has tried quitting. In fact, according to the Ameri-
can Cancer Society, nine out of ten people who start smoking will become addicted, and only three of ten
who try to quit are successful. Compare that ratio with the following data, also provided by the American
Cancer Society: one out of every ten people who starts drinking will become alcohol dependent and six out
of ten who use cocaine will become addicted. Indeed, quitting heroin is easier than quitting tobacco. Yet big
tobacco s big lie doesn t stop them from producing cigarettes and marketing them to young consumers all
the while denying that their product is harmful.
Big tobacco also knows the serious health issues related to their product. Tobacco use causes an imme-
diate physical response sweating, rapid pulse, increased hand tremor, insomnia, nausea or vomiting, phys-
ical agitation, anxiety, to name a few. But it is the long-term effects that are deadly. The number one risk factor
for coronary artery disease, better known as heart attack, is cigarette smoking. Nicotine causes the linings of
the arteries to become sticky so that plaque, and cholesterol, adheres to the walls of the arteries and block-
ages develop. But heart attack is only one deadly consequence.
Serious lung disease is directly linked to tobacco use. Lung cancer and emphysema are the result of
tobacco consumption, and both are painful, deadly diseases. The cost to families in emotional stress and dol-
lars is almost incalculable. Watching someone suffer from lung disease and knowing that it was preventable
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EXPRESS YOURSELF APPENDIX B
if cigarettes had not been marketed causes anger and regret. It also makes parents try to impress the no smok-
ing message on their children. But the cigarette manufacturers are way ahead of us. Statistics tell us that despite
efforts to curtail teenage tobacco use, it is on the rise. In 1998 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
noted that 24.1% of adults were smokers, and the highest incidence of smoking was among 18 44-year-olds.
Asked when they began smoking, 87% said when they were 15 or younger!
If that were not bad enough, young people are also experimenting with smokeless tobacco, commonly
called chew. They seem to think it is less harmful than smoking. But it isn t. Oral cancers of the tongue, lip,
and jaw are the direct result of chewing tobacco. Yet ballplayers do it and young men imitate them and, like
cigarettes, the warnings are just perfunctory. If people took them seriously, there would be a decline in tobacco
sales, and we all know that isn t true.
The American Academy of Family Physicians says that decreasing the rate of cigarette smoking in our
young people should be the number one health objective of this country. If that is true, and we know that all
the empirical data proves smoking to be so deadly, why are tobacco companies still in business? Why can we
buy their product in any convenience store on any street corner?
The answer is simple. Money. We cannot count on the tobacco companies to advise its customers of
the deadly effects of their product but we can put a dent in the number of teens who smoke by passing on
the important information that smoking is an addictive, disease-causing habit.
Now compare this essay against the rubric on page 143. Does it satisfy the requirements for accurate,
reliable, and relevant data? Are the ideas developed with examples? Is the essay organized with clear para-
graphs? See if you can use one of the peer review sheets in Appendix A to evaluate the piece closely.
Answers for pages 31-32
1. Please send a catalog at your earliest convenience.
2. The catalog I requested has not yet arrived.
3. My transcript has an error that needs correction.
4. Being on time and prepared to work are requirements for success in class.
5. Clean clothes and a neat appearance are a must for all employees.
Sample Persuasive Topics
School-related:
1. censorship of your school newspaper
2. school dress codes
3. zero tolerance
4. attendance policies
5. exit exams for a diploma
6. more money for sports, music, field trips
7. more money for textbooks, computers, other supplies
8. support for trips abroad
9. McDonald s in the cafeteria
10. open or closed campus
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APPENDIX B EXPRESS YOURSELF
General Interest:
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