Surveys show that every year only 10 percent of cigarette smokers swit

(A) Cigarette advertisements provide a major proportion of total advertising revenue for numerous magazines.
This is out of scope : How does this affect the argument? Even if revenue for magazines is affected by cig ads, it does not weaken the argument that no ads by the cig companies would result in no change revenue for them.

(B) Cigarette promotion serves to attract first-time smokers to replace those people who have stopped smoking.
Right answer : If a few smokers switch brands, then those brands loose revenue from these customers. This loss of revenue from traitor customers is made up through acquisition of new customers, which are influenced into smoking with the help of ads in magazines. If there were no ads, then getting people to smoke would be difficult. Hence this is the right answer.

(C) There exists no research conclusively demonstrating that increases in cigarette advertising are related to increases in smoking
This is a strengthener of sorts : If there is no conclusive evidence as mentioned, then advertising makes little sense. Hence, this strengthens the argument that ads can be dropped without any loss of revenue to the companies advertising them.

(D) Advertising is so firmly established as a major business activity of cigarette manufacturers that they would be unlikely to drop it.
Out of Scope : Whether manufacturers would be unlikely to drop ads or not is irrelevant to the argument. We want to prove that ads do affect sales afterall, even if customer switch brands.

(E) Brand loyalty is typically not very strong among those who smoke inexpensive cigarettes.
The question we have to ask ourselves is how does this statement affect the argument, which is if ads were dropped, will sales be affected? If smokers switch brands, how is this loss of customer revenue from disloyal customers made up for through ads in mags? This statement doesn't provide any solutions.

Surveys show that every year only 10 percent of cigarette smokers switch brands. Yet the manufacturers have been spending an amount equal to 10 percent of their gross receipts on cigarette promotion in magazines. It follows from these figures that inducing cigarette smokers to switch brands did not pay, and that cigarette companies would have been no worse off economically if they had dropped their advertising.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion that cigarette companies could have dropped advertising without suffering economically?

The only metrics the surveys talk about are the number of customers switching brands and the consistency of revenue of cigarette companies. We have to find and answer option which says that there are other market segments which are not taken into account or that there could be other damaging aspects of stopping advertisements which are not looking at.

(A) Cigarette advertisements provide a major proportion of total advertising revenue for numerous magazines. -- We are not worried about magazine revenue in the passage
(B) Cigarette promotion serves to attract first-time smokers to replace those people who have stopped smoking. -- CORRECT, aligns with the pre-thinking we have been doing, i.e., how ads are providing revenues by attracting other market segments to offset the loss from people who quit smoking
(C) There exists no research conclusively demonstrating that increases in cigarette advertising are related to increases in smoking. -- Strengthener
(D) Advertising is so firmly established as a major business activity of cigarette manufacturers that they would be unlikely to drop it. -- We can not speak on behalf of cigarette manufactures
(E) Brand loyalty is typically not very strong among those who smoke inexpensive cigarettes. -- Only speaks of a particular category of smokers.

So, the answer is B

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