430 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The Dangers of Chewing Tobacco
1 On March 30, Tom, a twenty–three–year–old man from northern Wisconsin, went in for
his yearly dental checkup. As far as he could tell, there were no real problems except maybe the
one or two usual cavities that the dentist always seems to find. The dentist began poking around
at Tom’s teeth, but soon became more interested in Tom’s lower lip and gums. The dentist no-
ticed an unusual growth on Tom’s lower lip and asked if Tom was a regular user of chewing to-
bacco. Tom answered yes.
3 Due to the fact that I am currently studying to be a dentist, and because my father is a
dentist and I have worked for him as an assistant for over four years, I have actually seen cases
similar to Tom’s which result from chewing tobacco. I have also attended a number of seminars
on this topic, and today I’d like to persuade each of you to feel as strongly as I do about the dan-
gers of chewing tobacco.
4 In my speech, I’d like to show you the many problems that can result from chewing to-
bacco. Then I’d like to persuade each of you to take action and help change the lenient laws gov-
erning the use of chewing tobacco in our society. Let’s begin by looking at how widespread the
problem of chewing tobacco really is.
5 Chewing tobacco is more common than you may think. According to the American
Cancer Society, one in every twelve Americans is a regular user of chewing tobacco. The average
age of first use is just ten years old, which means that many children are chewing tobacco when
they are in fourth grade. The American Cancer Society also reports that 40 percent of high school
THE DANGERS OF CHEWING TOBACCO 431
7 Another effect of chewing tobacco is gum disease. Regular use of chewing tobacco causes
visual gum damage in less than two to three months. According to the American Dental
Association, about half of all teenage users have some type of gum problem. But what’s wrong
with gum disease? Well, it causes the gums to pull away from the teeth, which further increases
the risk of tooth decay and loss.
8 Gum disease and tooth loss are serious enough, but as we saw at the beginning in the story
about Tom, chewing tobacco can have most serious consequences. According to the American
Dental Association, those who use chewing tobacco just once in a while have four times the risk of
developing oral cancer than do nonusers. And if that isn’t bad enough, those who use chewing
tobacco three or more times a week for over a year have fifty times the risk of developing cancer
10 I know this is a terrible thought, but the point I’m trying to make is an important one.
You must be aware of the terrible consequences of chewing tobacco because next time it could
happen to you or to someone you love.
11 Let’s look, then, at what can be done to diminish the use of chewing tobacco. First, the
laws in Wisconsin pertaining to the age at which chewing tobacco can be bought must be
strengthened. The law in Wisconsin states that chewing tobacco can be purchased at age eighteen,
but according to the Department of Law Enforcement, the laws on chewing tobacco sales have
been ineffective. To be effective, the laws must be enforced and have adequate penalties.
432 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
as role models. Children think if it’s all right for athletes to use chewing tobacco, it must be all
right for me to do it too. If these role models would stand up and say chewing is wrong, many of
our children would change their minds about the drug.
14 What we need, then, is a ban on chewing tobacco use during professional sporting events.
You may think this is impractical, but already one baseball team, the Kansas City Royals, has
THE DANGERS OF CHEWING TOBACCO 433
The Dangers of Chewing Tobacco
Commentary
“The Dangers of Chewing Tobacco” is an excellent persuasive speech that illustrates how students can
make effective use of all the methods of persuasion discussed in Chapter 17 of the textbook. Here is a
synopsis focusing on those methods of persuasion.
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the laws governing the sale of chewing tobacco
should be strengthened and that professional athletes should refrain from using chewing tobacco
during games in order to reduce the problem of chewing tobacco use among young adults.
Central Idea: The dangers of chewing tobacco pose a serious problem that can be curbed by state
legislation and by banning the use of chewing tobacco during professional sporting events.
Method of Organization: Problem-solution
Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraphs 1–4. The speaker begins with an extended ex-
ample that does an excellent job pulling the audience into the speech (paragraphs 1–2). In para-
graph 3, the speaker establishes her credibility, and in paragraph 4 she provides a clear preview
statement that lets the audience know what to listen for in the body of the speech.
Body: There are two main points in the body. The first demonstrates that the use of chewing tobacco
is a serious problem in the United States (paragraphs 5–10). After showing how widespread that
use is, the speaker demonstrates that chewing tobacco poses a number of dangers. The
Conclusion: Brief and hard–hitting, the conclusion is presented in paragraph 15. After restating the need
for action against chewing tobacco, the speaker ends by referring back to the two extended ex-
434 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The speaker’s use of examples is complemented by her use of statistics in paragraphs 5, 7,
8, and 12. The most dramatic instance of this is the extended example of Sean Marsee in para-
graph 9 that gives a personal dimension to the statistics cited in paragraph 8. Less dramatic, but
equally effective, is the speaker’s method in paragraph 5. After stating that the average age of
first use of chewing tobacco is “just ten years old,” she explains that this means “many children
Reasoning: The speaker relies primarily on causal reasoning and analogical reasoning. She uses
causal reasoning in paragraphs 6–9, where she argues that chewing tobacco is a cause of tooth
decay, tooth loss, gum disease, and oral cancer. She does not claim that chewing tobacco is the
sole cause of these conditions, only that it is an important contributing factor. In each case, she
supports her claim with credible evidence of a causal connection. The speaker also uses causal
reasoning in paragraphs 13–14, when she claims that many children start chewing tobacco be-
cause they see athletes chewing. If the athletes stopped chewing in games, she reasons, then
children would be less likely to chew themselves.
The speaker employs analogical reasoning in paragraph 12. Her argument there is that be-
cause tougher laws against selling chewing tobacco have worked in California and other states,
similar laws would work in the speaker’s state of Wisconsin. Analogical reasoning is often used
in this way by speakers to demonstrate the practicality of their proposed policy.
Emotional Appeal: For the most part, the speaker allows her emotional appeal to grow naturally out of
her speech content. Vivid and richly detailed, the extended examples of Tom (paragraph 1) and
Sean Marsee (paragraph 9) help to encourage a strong emotional reaction against chewing tobac-