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Assignment 1

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Assignment 1

Topic 1: Should taxes on alcohol and tobacco be increased to help pay for rising medical costs?

I chose this topic because alcohol and tobacco are some of the most abused drugs. By raising taxes on these substances, the government can not only effectively reduce their consumption and related harm but also increase revenue that can be used to pay for medical costs and providing better healthcare. The audience for this topic is the government and the public at large. Credible information regarding the topic is provided in articles by Mongan (2013) and Elder et al. (2010). The preliminary thesis statement is; taxes on alcohol and tobacco should be raised to provide increased revenue to cover medical costs.

Topic 2: Should minors who commit violent crimes be tried as adults?

I chose this topic in the light of a heated debate on whether juvenile offenders should be tried in the adults’ criminal court. There are many cases where juveniles commit serious violent crimes, but they do not face criminal charges as they are deemed intellectually deficient, vulnerable and lacking in control. My audience is the Supreme Court, the juvenile justice system as well as the public at large. Redding (2006) and Baruwa (2013) are credible sources on this topic. The preliminary thesis statement is; minors who engage in violent crimes should be tried as adults as this prevents complacency and achieves deterrence.

Topic 3: Should children of parents who do not allow them to be vaccinated be allowed to attend public school?

Vaccination is considered to be a significant achievement regarding fighting against diseases. I, therefore, chose this topic because I feel that it is immoral to allow a few people who choose not to vaccine their children to endanger the lives of the majority. As such, I believe unimmunized children should be barred from attending public schools. My audience, in this case, is the public as well as policymakers in state and federal governments. Ciolli (2008) and Leifer (2015) provide credible information on the topic. The preliminary thesis statement is; children from families that do not support vaccination should be barred from public schools as it endangers the whole population.

References

Baruwa, B. (2013). Should juveniles be transferred to adult criminal court in the criminal justice system?Tenn. J. Race Gender & Soc. Just., 2, 101.

Ciolli, A. (2008). Mandatory school vaccinations: the role of tort law. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 81(3), 129.

Elder, R. W., Lawrence, B., Ferguson, A., Naimi, T. S., Brewer, R. D., Chattopadhyay, S. K., ... & Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2010). The effectiveness of tax policy interventions for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. American journal of preventive medicine, 38(2), 217-229.

Leifer, C. (2015) Mandatory vaccination will protect all citizens. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 294 (7856).

Mongan, D. (2013). Alcohol: increasing price can reduce harm and contribute to revenue collection. Drugnet Ireland, 7-9.

Redding, R. E. (2005). Adult punishment for juvenile offenders: does it reduce crime?.HANDBOOK OF CHILDREN, CULTURE, AND VIOLENCE, N. Dowd, D. Singer, & R. Wilson, eds., Sage Publications.