A syllogismis a basic pattern of reasoning:

 All humans are mortals.   MAJOR PREMISE
 Socrates is a human.       minor premise
 Socrates is a mortal.        Conclusion

 An enthymeme is usually defined as a "rhetorical syllogism" because it is the way reasoning usually appears in texts. It is actually a syllogism with one of its premises missing.  In an enthymeme, the conclusion is stated in the first claim, and the minor premise is stated as the reason given for that claim, often expressed in a "because clause":

 (We know that) Socrates is mortal
       because       he is  human.

Missing Premise:  All things who are human are mortal. (All humans are mortal.)

This kind of enthymeme follows the form A  --->B    b/c   A ---> C
for which the missing premise is: "All things that  ---> C  ---> B"

      A    -------->       B   b/c             A  ------->  C
[Socrates]     is  [mortal]  because  [he]  is  [human]

Can you identify the terms in the following enthymeme?

Bans against smoking in public areas uphold fundamental human rights because they protect innocent people from a proven threat to their lives.

Can you reconstruct the missing premise?