Peter Brimelow’s “Thank You for Smoking” is a misleading argument which has very little precise evidence and illustrates a weak argument. The essay is about how smoking in some small ways, can be good for you. (Brimelow). In his claim it sounds like he isn’t sure of it himself because he used “might be” and “some” which are not strong argumentative words. When stating a major claim it has to be strong and get the message clear. It is supported by logic and reason, not by emotional rhetoric. (Clark 5).
Brimelow’s rebuttal talks about the Surgeon General and how he has determined smoking is not at all dangerous to your health. A rebuttal points out instances in which the claim or warrant might not be true or ways the audience might object to what the author is arguing. He goes on to say that 400,000 deaths are related to smoking each year. His rebuttal to this is comparing smoking with driving. He goes on to say that driving causes 40,000 deaths in one year. These two numbers comparing the number of deaths caused my smoking and car accidents are not even close to comparison. Another car can collide with them or bad roads can cause accidents, while smoking is totally preventable and can be controlled by the person.