代做Assessment 4: Argumentative Essay代做Python编程

1Assessment 4: Argumentative Essay

Reading

Read all the articles assigned for your topic, annotate, highlight and take Cornell notes.

Please be aware that some of the texts will not be academic and should not be taken as models for your own formal academic writing.

Section A: Outlining

Using note-form, in your own words (with appropriate use of paraphrasing), complete an outline for the essay question:

Question: Should smoking be banned?

● Your response should be between 150 – 250 words.

● Do not write a paragraph summary.

● Your response must be in appropriate note-form.

Your outline will not contribute to your final mark. However, it is essential for you to complete this section so that your teacher can provide you with feedback.

Section B: Argumentative Essay

Use the outline you have created from the texts in Section A to write a formal argumentative essay:

Question: Should smoking be banned?

● Make reference to the material provided.

● Paraphrase and synthesise your response.

● Write 700 words (+/- 10%).

● Use the formal conventions for an argumentative essay as studied in class.

TEXT 1

Urgent action needed to protect children and prevent the uptake of e-cigarettes

Written by Jaimie Guerra

Source: World Health Organization.

December 14, 2023.

Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news/item/14-12-2023-urgent-action-needed-to-protect-children-and-prevent-the-uptake-of-e-cigarettes

Urgent action is needed to control e-cigarettes to protect children, as well as non-smokers and minimise health harms to the population. E-cigarettes as consumer products are not shown to be effective for quitting tobacco use at the population level. Instead, alarming evidence has emerged on adverse population health effects.

E-cigarettes have been allowed on the open market and aggressively marketed to young people. Thirty-four countries ban the sale of e-cigarettes, 88 countries have no minimum age at which e-cigarettes can be bought and 74 countries have no regulations in place for these harmful products.

“Kids are being recruited and trapped at an early age to use e-cigarettes and may get hooked to nicotine without knowing the long term detrimental effects of it," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

"I urge countries to implement strict measures to prevent uptake to protect their citizens, especially impressionable young people and children.”

E-cigarettes with nicotine are highly addictive and are harmful to health. It has been established that they generate toxic substances, some of which are known to cause cancer and some that increase the risk of heart and lung disorders. Use of e-cigarettes can also affect brain development and lead to learning disorders for young people. Fetal exposure to e-cigarettes can adversely affect the development of the fetus in pregnant women.

“E-cigarettes target children through social media and influencers, with at least 16 000 flavours. Some of these products use cartoon characters and have sleek designs, which appeal to the younger generation.There is an alarming increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and young people with rates exceeding adult use in many countries,” Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO Director for Health Promotion.

Children 13–15-years old are using e-cigarettes at rates higher than adults in all WHO regions. In Canada, the rate of e-cigarette use among 16–19-year-olds has doubled between 2017–2022, and in England (the United Kingdom) the number of young users has tripled in the past three years.

Even brief exposure to e-cigarette content on social media can be associated with increased intention to use these products, as well as more positive attitudes toward e-cigarettes. Studies consistently show that young people that use e-cigarettes are almost three times more likely to use cigarettes later in life.

Urgent measures are necessary to prevent uptake of e-cigarettes and counter nicotine addiction alongside a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, and in light of national circumstances.

Countries that ban e-cigarette sales should enhance enforcement and maintain rigorous monitoring to support public health measures. In countries where e-cigarettes are allowed, strong regulations should be implemented to minimize their appeal and reduce harm. These measures include banning all flavors, limiting nicotine concentration and quality, and imposing taxes.

Any government pursuing a smoking cessation strategy using e-cigarettes should control the conditions under which the products are accessed to ensure appropriate clinical conditions and regulate the products as medicines (including requiring marketing authorization as medicines).

The decision to pursue a smoking cessation objective, even in such a controlled form, should be made only after considering national circumstances, along with the risk of uptake and after exhausting other proven cessation strategies.

The tobacco industry profits from destroying health and is using these newer products to get a seat at the policy-making table with governments to lobby against health policies. The tobacco industry funds and promotes false evidence to argue that these products reduce harm, while at the same time heavily promoting these products to children and non-smokers and continuing to sell billions of cigarettes.

Strong decisive action is needed to prevent the uptake of e-cigarettes based on the growing body of evidence of its use by children and adolescents and health harms.

TEXT 2

Five years after U of T went smoke-free, what does smoking look like on campus?

Written by Carly Campbell

Source: The Varsity.

January 8, 2024.

Retrieved from https://thevarsity.ca/2024/01/08/five-years-after-u-of-t-went-smoke-free-what-does-smoking-look-like-on-campus/

January 1 marked the fifth anniversary of the University of Toronto (U of T) prohibiting smoking on its three campuses. The policy, which U of T put into effect in 2019, prohibits individuals from smoking any lighted tobacco or cannabis and from using vapes or e-cigarettes on U of T property.

While smoking policies and practices have changed, some students continue to smoke on campus — calling into question the policy’s effectiveness.

Student smoking behaviour

In 1995, U of T introduced a policy that prohibited smoking inside all University of Toronto buildings, except for in designated smoking areas such as residences and campus pubs. The 2019 smoke-free campus policy extended the ban on smoking to all U of T property.

Third-year political science student Natalia Montano smokes on campus and believes it remains a fairly regular activity. “Usually later in the day, you can spot at least three to four people trying their best to finish their cigarettes in the freezing cold,” she wrote in a message to The Varsity.

While the 2019 policy applies to all U of T property, with no exceptions for designated smoking zones, she wrote that many spots are used so commonly for smoking that they “seem specially designed for smokers.” Montano explained that one can find giant piles of cigarette butts on “stairwells, benches and behind buildings, just out of sight.”

Nicotine consumption has changed over the past few years. A 2022 survey conducted by the Government of Canada found that six per cent of Canadians aged 15 and older had reported vaping in the 30 days before they took the survey — up from five per cent in 2019, when the government first began conducting the survey.

This number is much higher among young people, with approximately 20 per cent of 20–24-year-olds reporting having vaped in the past month and 33 per cent of them reporting that reducing stress was their main reason for vaping — making them the group with the most reported vapers.

“If it weren’t for the accessibility of vapes, I think we’d see a lot more students gathering outside to smoke,” said Montano.

Why do students smoke?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills more than eight million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million people who are killed by secondhand smoke. Smoking is also the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Considering these effects, why do university students continue consuming nicotine?

“It’s an obvious stress reliever and not too time consuming,” wrote Montano. “Once you finish one or two cigarettes you know your break is over and it’s time to get back to work.”

A 2022 study by the Government of Canada found that the primary reason for youth vaping is stress reduction. The study also found that the prevalence of smoking or vaping is higher among youth who rated their mental health as fair or poor than among those who rated their mental health as excellent, very good, or good. Nicotine releases dopamine, which can cause feelings of pleasure and relaxation, which leads to the beginning of nicotine cravings.

A 2022 pan-Canadian survey by the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that measured stress levels among university students found that, on average, they were incredibly high. Stress is a leading cause of mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety. The post-secondary age range is also particularly at risk for this development due to their stage of brain development.

In addition to the smoke-free policy, U of T offers support for staff and students who want to quit smoking. Student programs for smoking cessation are available through the Health and Wellness centres found at all three campuses. The U of T Health and Wellness centres also provide access to workshops that can assist students with managing stress through coping and mindfulness strategies.

Has the smoking ban been effective?

Then-Vice President of Human Resources and Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat told U of T News in 2018 that the policy aimed to create “healthier campuses.” The five-year anniversary of the smoke-free campus policy is a good chance to evaluate how well the policy has worked.

When asked about the effectiveness of the policy, Montano wrote that she hadn’t “personally” been impacted by the smoking ban. She noted that staff don’t seem to walk past spots where people tend to smoke very often. “When they do, they don’t say anything,” she wrote.

According to a U of T website, when enforcing the policy, the university focuses on educating U of T community members about the dangers of smoking. Generally, the university says enforcement measures may vary depending on “the individual’s relationship with the university, the nature of the infraction, and the place in which it occurred.”

A 2020 article published by The Varsity a year after the policy came into effect insinuated that students had been “ignoring” the policy. The article noted that the size of the St. George campus and its integration within the heart of Toronto complicate the ability to police the area.

The smoke-free policy page on the U of T website mentions that both UTM and UTSC have designated smoking areas, and individuals can smoke in areas of the St. George campus operated by the city, including many streets and sidewalks within the campus. “St. George does not have clearly defined borders, so the line between what counts as even smoking on campus is blurry,” Montano told The Varsity.

Smoking bans decrease the number of smokers by making it less socially acceptable.

A 2020 Canadian study that surveyed public health practitioners on the most effective methods to reduce tobacco use found that most viewed economic incentives and regulation — such as localized bans and taxation — as the most effective ways to reduce smoking rates. The WHO also recommends mixing various interventions to limit smoking.

Michelle Amri explained that policies that target the perception of smoking as a normal activity, like smoking bans, can be highly effective. For instance, public health policymakers advocate for ‘denormalizing’ tobacco by framing it as an activity that is not mainstream or normal. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that denormalization is successful in reducing the prevalence of smoking, with social unacceptability specifically being connected to reducing cigarette smoking.

“Smoking bans on campus are one strategy that can help denormalize tobacco products, but also prevent non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke and contain cigarette butt litter,” wrote Amri.

TEXT 3

‘Total Ban’: Could this be the last generation of smokers?

Written by Donna Lu

Source:  The Guardian.

April 16, 2022.

Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/17/total-ban-could-this-be-the-last-generation-of-smokers

Beyond the usual memorable factors – fears about the millennium bug, the dawn of the 21st century – 1 January 2000 is a significant date in Brookline, Massachusetts. On the outskirts of Boston, vendors are legally banned from selling tobacco products and e-cigarettes to anyone born after Y2K.

The legislation came into effect last September, after a vote in November 2020, making Brookline the first US town to implement such a law, in the hopes of gradually phasing out smoking for younger generations.

It isn’t clear how effective the policy in Brookline will be, given the town’s proximity to other jurisdictions where sales are legal. But similar proposals – often termed policies for “tobacco-free generations” (TFG) – are now being considered at the national level by several countries.

No safe age
In Australia, smoking is the leading cause of premature death and disability. It kills more people in this country each year than alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides or – in the past two years – Covid, points out Jon Berrick, an emeritus professor at Singapore’s Yale-NUS College.

A mathematician by training, Berrick developed a personal interest in tobacco policies and was one of a group of researchers who floated the TFG idea in a 2010 paper. It suggested 2000 as a threshold birth year for a “long-term phasing-in of a total ban”.

Unlike laws prohibiting sales to under-18s or under-21s, “if you have it on a birth cohort basis, you’re sending out the message: there is no safe age for smoking”, Berrick says.

Smoking rates have declined steadily in Australia since the 1990s, to 11.6% of adults in 2019. Between 2001 and 2019, the proportion of daily smokers aged 18 to 39 has halved, though figures have not improved in those in their 50s and 60s.

Proponents of TFG laws believe it is a more palatable option than an outright ban on all smoking products.

“You can’t just ban it overnight. What happens to the people who are dependent on it?” Berrick says. Sales restrictions based on birth date would instead concentrate efforts on preventing adolescents from taking up smoking in the first place, he says.

To date, there has been one attempt to implement TFG legislation in Australia – an unsuccessful private members bill in Tasmania, introduced in 2014 by the independent MP Ivan Dean.

Tasmania is well-suited for a TFG proposal, says Dr. Kathryn Barnsley, a researcher at the University of Tasmania and head of SmokeFree Tasmania. "We have an excellent licensing system and strict enforcement of sales to minors, unlike some other states."

Tobacco sales and regulation enforcement are state responsibilities, except for some federal laws on advertising and packaging, Barnsley adds. The 2022-2030 national tobacco strategy hints at age restrictions, proposing to consider raising the minimum purchase age and monitoring global developments.

Black market fears
TFG proposals are not without critics. Dr Brendan Gogarty, of the University of Tasmania, wrote in The Conversation in 2016 that while smoking “represents a significant social danger”, the legislative response to social risks “must be evidence-based and considerate of constitutional limits and civil rights”.

Simon Clark, of smokers' lobby group Forest, mentioned that "creeping prohibition won't stop young adults smoking" but it will "simply drive the sale of tobacco underground and consumers will buy cigarettes on the black market where no-one pays tax and products are completely unregulated".

The illicit trade in tobacco products "poses major health, economic and security concerns around the world", according to the World Health Organization, which estimates 1 in every 10 cigarettes and tobacco products consumed globally is illicit.

Another downside of the TFG proposal is that “this measure on its own won’t achieve Australia’s goal of less than 5% smoking prevalence by 2030, because it is a very slowly implemented phase-out,” says Coral Gartner, an associate professor at the University of Queensland.

“In New Zealand, it is a policy that is being brought in with a range of other policies that are likely to have a larger and faster impact on smoking prevalence, such as a very low nicotine standard for cigarettes,” she says.

“If the level of potential harm from vaping products is considered unacceptable for them to be sold as consumer products [nicotine vapes are now prescription-only in Australia] – that should also make everyone question why is it acceptable for tobacco cigarettes to be sold … when they have a much stronger evidence base in terms of risk to health,” says Gartner.

An alternative could be designing a “pharmaceutical-like” regulatory framework, she suggests, where the products are supplied in pharmacies and “a health professional can provide advice on risks and benefits”.

Hefler says any TFG proposal would need to “avoid creating a new epidemic of e-cigarette use among young people and non-smokers” – as is a potential risk in New Zealand. “But cigarettes need even tighter regulation than e-cigarettes and are overdue to be phased out,” she says.

TEXT 4

Vapers to transition to cigarette smoking after ban, adding more strain to health system

Written by Grace Baldwin

Source: News.com.au.

February 24, 2024.

Retrieved from https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/vapers-to-transition-to-cigarette-smoking-after-ban-adding-more-strain-to-health-system/news-story/1fcf28d2ab2a43f9f0d9a90f9633fb82

An alarming amount of vapers will transition to tobacco smoking, new research has found, putting the Australian health system under massive strain.

A study from medical research institute QIMR Berghofer estimated 13 per cent of vapers who have never smoked before will start smoking tobacco – potentially costing Australia more than $180 million dollars extra per year. The combined additional cost of treating more patients with respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease and cancer could cost $180m at least – in addition to the current smoking-related healthcare costs, estimated at $2.6 billion each year.

Poisons, heavy metals like nickel and chromium, and chemical by-products including formaldehyde and acetone are all found in vapes.

Researcher Professor Louisa Gordon said there has been a dramatic spike in the number of people who vape, with about one million Australians already using e-cigarettes.

Among others, some of the horrifying health effects of vaping include addiction, poisoning, acute nicotine toxicity – known as getting “nic-sick” – burns and lung injuries.

If those unable to buy a vape under the new ban choose to transition to cigarettes and not to quit smoking altogether, it would increase the risk of long term illness and disease.

“There’s a risk that the nation’s already-strained health system could weaken even further, with an increased number of people experiencing smoking-induced disease and addiction following a transition from vaping to cigarettes,” Professor Gordon said.

The government is absolutely on the right path, banning the importation of disposable vapes and making therapeutic vapes only accessible through medical prescription.

Further Australian reforms and community-wide education campaigns are urgently needed to support people addicted to e-cigarettes and to prevent the uptake of tobacco cigarettes which are still widely available.

“We need to see the reforms implemented and enforced as a priority for all jurisdictions, as well as enhancing education efforts and leading with empathy as we help people overcome vape and nicotine addiction without stigma,” Ms Preston said.

However, as a relatively new product, the harmful effects of e-cigarette use are not fully understood, and limited evidence exists for chronic health conditions arising from vaping. More research is needed to assess the true burden of e-cigarette use on people’s health and the resulting impact on the Australian healthcare sector and the nation’s economy.

In a breakdown of the extra costs potentially racking up Australia’s health bill, Professor Gordon projected lung cancer alone could cost nearly $37mn extra and lower respiratory infections could cost nearly another $54mn every year. Currently, lower respiratory infections already cost Australia $1.5bn annually. Emphysema and bronchitis would also cost an extra $40.7mn per year, on top of an already blistering $934mn.

Lung Foundation Australia general manager of policy, advocacy and prevention Paige Preston collaborated in the research and said evidence continued to support government action to prevent and reduce use of vapes.