An international study recently examined the effects of second hand smoke on health. surprisingly, although the dosages of harmful chemicals form second hand smoke are so small that their effect should be negligible, the study found that nonsmoking spouses of smokers displayed an incidence of heart disease that was significantly greater than that of nonsmokers who were not as regularly exposed to second hand smoke.

Each of the following if true could contribute to an explanation of the unexpectedly high incidence of heart disease in smoker's spouses EXCEPT:

A. A disproportionately high number of people married to smokers are among the older segment of the married population, a group that inherently has a higher than average risk of heart disease

B. on average, more alcohol and coffee both of which have been linked to heart disease, are consumed in the homes of smokers than in the homes of nonsmokers.

C. A disproportionately high number of smokers are married to other smokers and the risk of heart disease increases in proportion to the number of smokers living in a household.

D. Smokers generally tend to live in higher stress environments than do non smokers and stress is a factor associated with above average incidence of heart disease.

E.A disproportionately high number of smokers live in areas with a high level of industrial pollutants, which have been shown to be a factor in increased risk of heart disease


_________________

My dad once said to me: Son, nothing succeeds like success.

Both D and E are similar in structure. If smokers are living in higher stress environment or highly polluted areas, their spouses are too. Reason for the heart disease can thus be the environment in which the spouses live and not necessarily the second hand smoke.

"C" doesn't not even explicitly associate non-smokers with smokers. Out of scope.

Ans: "C"
_________________

~fluke

Find out what's new at GMAT Club - latest features and updates

+1 for C. Choice D does not apply to the argument as it talks about spouses who smoke, while the argument talks about non smoker spouses.

Crick

C is the only answer which doesnt introduce new information outside of smoking

the options A and B provide a possible explanation for the phenomena.
C talks about couples where both spouses smoke(not relevant)
D and E talks about smokers ONLY and does not mention anything about spouses( not relevant again)

i could have picked anyone from c,d,e..went with D though

for me also , i think its C