Rhetorical Analysis of a Research Paper on Smoking Ban Policies and their Influence on Smoking Behaviors Among Current California Smokers

Smoking is happening everywhere in the world. Many people are addicted and won’t quit even understanding how harmful it is to their health. Every one of five deaths are caused by cigarettes in the United States. “Smoking ban policies and their influence on smoking behaviors among current California smokers: A population-based study” by Zablocki, Rong W, Edland, Steven D, Myers, Mark G, Strong, David R, Hofstetter, C. Richard, and  Al-Delaimy, Wael K  was published on November 26, 2013. This was published in Preventive Medicine, which are a form of articles that are related to public health and this was their fifty-ninths volume (Elsevier ClinicalKey). Preventive Medicine is an international journal that publishes topics that are related to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other preventable diseases, lifestyle disorders and interventions, the effects of socioeconomic status on health, and environmental and occupational health (Elsevier, 2019). The study displays whether smoking ban policies are connected with smoking reduction and quit attempts among California smokers (Zablocki, Rong W, Edland, Steven D, Myers, Mark G, Strong, David R, Hofstetter, C. Richard, and  Al-Delaimy, Wael K, 2013). The purpose of writing this rhetorical analysis was to understand how the authors write, gather data, analyze their strategies used, and to understand the contents of research paper done by professional writers in the field of science.

The intended audience are most likely people who live in California. The study would interest people who are currently smoking, want to quit, or know people who smoke, health experts, and people in the field of medicine such as doctors. Everyone has seen someone smoking outside and they might consider how banning smoking in certain places can lead to a reduction in smoking and increase quitting.

Following the traditional IMRAD format, the article starts with an abstract that summarizes the information in the article. In the introduction, the authors give background information on smoking and smoking rules in California. The authors used the CARS model to organize their data and research. In the first move, they establish the topic and give background information on the topic by making topic generalizations on how “total smoking ban (either public or home) promoted stronger and more consistent effects in smoking reduction and cessation than a partial smoking ban” (Borland et al., 2006; Naiman et al., 2011; Pizacani et al., 2004) and (Swales John, 1990).

In the second move, the authors conduct research by continuing a tradition (Swales John, 1990). The authors then go on to state their methods of research and how they collected their data. They included the outcome variables, independent variables, and statistical analysis. The authors used the 2011 California longitudinal smokers survey where phone interviews were held and eligible participants who completed a follow-up survey became subjects of the experiment. A total of 5,530 smokers were identified but data was examined for 1,718 current smokers in California who did the follow-up telephone interview. The authors used tables to show what they have collected. This established logos where the tables showed the independent variable: demographic variables which are “(1) Gender; (2)Age category (18–24 years 25–44 years 45–64 years and 65 + years); (3) Ethnicity (Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White and all others); (4) household annual income (<$50,000 and ≥$50,000); (5) Live with partner; (6) Education (High School or Less and Some College or More); and (7) Living with children younger than 18 years” (Zablocki, Rong W, Edland, Steven D, Myers, Mark G, Strong, David R, Hofstetter, C. Richard, and  Al-Delaimy, Wael K, 2013).

The authors then explain the results with another table that shows if smoking has been banned or not at work, indoor, home, and perceived city. These data showed how having smoking banned in certain places can increase the chances of quitting and reductions. Table number three shows the estimated amount of smoking reduction and quit attempts among smokers by demographic and smoking ban policies. Table number four uses outcomes and ban policies to see which smoking ban increases quit attempts and reduction. The last table number five compares everything that was collected which are outcomes, demographic strata, and ban policies.

In the third move, the authors announce their main findings and evaluation of findings. They include a discussion and conclusion (Swales John, 1990). The study showed California smokers who lived in a city with a smoking ban had an increase in smoking reduction and quit attempts compared to those who did not. The conclusion said that having a smoking ban encourages quitting. People who have a hard time quitting are motivated by having a city where smoking is prohibited. Having a smoking ban at home can help smokers to start the quitting phases.

Throughout the study, the authors used logos and ethos to establish their data. Ethos was used when comparing the demographic variables with the outcomes. The study showed how both home and city ban on smoking led to increased odds of smoking reduction and quitting attempts. Logos was used by the five tables the authors included which presented information on the experiment. It was very organized and had clear formats. The details and information provided by the authors showed the audience how they carried out their study by clarifying the methods used that convinced the audience that the authors are credible. The authors used pathos when they said how every one of five death happens due to smoking cigarettes and only people from California were the test subjects. This favors people from California to be more informed about the effect of having smoking ban policies. Other than that, the authors did not use pathos as they used real data to show the effect of having smoking ban policies.

In writing the rhetorical analysis, I learned how having smoking ban policies can lead to an increase in quit attempts and reduction in smoking. One thing I noticed is that the study did not mention secondhand smoke but having smoking ban policies on certain places reduced chemical exposure to people. I understood the CARS model. I also learned how formats can affect a paper and the outcomes of the research paper. Having everything organized can make the articles understandable and clear. I saw how using logos, ethos, and pathos are included in the CARS model which also gave me a sense of who the audiences were. I learned more about how people can start quitting to smoke as the article I read and wrote about from The New York Times was also similar to this one.

References

Borland, R., Chapman, S., Owen, N., Hill, D., 1990. Effects of workplace smoking bans on cigarette consumption. Am. J. Public Health 80, 178–180.

Elsevier ClinicalKey. October 09, 2019. Retrieved from https://www-clinicalkey-com.ccnyproxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/#!/

Preventive Medicine (1972. Print) [0091-7435] Zablocki yr:2014 vol:59 iss:1 pg:73 -78

Swales John. (1990). Creating A Research Space CARS model. Retrieved from Professor Bolster

Zablocki, R., Edland, S., Myers, M., Strong, D., Hofstetter, C., & Al-Delaimy, W. (2014). Smoking ban policies and their influence on smoking behaviors among current California smokers: A population-based study. Preventive Medicine, 59(1), 5 Pages.