The increase in taxes on cigarettes next month will not limit the use

Question

The increase in taxes on cigarettes next month will not limit the use of addictive tobacco products to the extent that health advocates hope. Many cigarette smokers will shift their spending to cigars and chewing tobacco when the law takes effect.

Which of the following, if true, would most strongly weaken the argument above?

A. Cigars and chewing tobacco can satisfy the nicotine cravings of most cigarette smokers.

B. The taste, smell, and texture of cigars and chewing tobacco are sufficiently different from those of cigarettes to deter cigarette smokers from using them.

C. Many health advocates themselves use tobacco products.

D. The government might also impose significant taxes on cigars and chewing tobacco over the course of two years.

E. Cigars and chewing tobacco are often more expensive than cigarettes.

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OneLazyBum · Answer

Can someone please help
I am confused between option (B) and (E)

MansikaVats · Answer

Well I think its option B because it gives us more clear reason and explanation about how the smell and taste of chewing tobacco and cigars will deter smokers from using them . Hence the claim that they will likely move to consuming these products might fall .

You are free to correct me if i am wrong .

You are free to correct me if i am wrong .

PeanutButter429 · Answer

For me (E) is less certain because we don't know by how much are they more expensive, so we cannot compare their current price with the price of cigs + tax. Plus the word often is quite vague

Dereno · Answer

The taxes on cigarettes are going to increase from next month, this will eventually lead to increase in price of cigarettes compared to previous month. The health advocates claim that this increase in taxes, might help reduce the consumption of addictive tobacco products. But, this won’t be the case.

As many cigarettes consumers will shift to alternative tobacco products like - chewing tobacco and smoking cigars.

We need to find a strong weakener, this means there exists a weak weakener amongst the options.

A. Cigars and chewing tobacco can satisfy the nicotine cravings of most cigarette smokers.

If the alternative variants of tobacco satisfies the nicotine cravings of most cigarettes smokers, they might shift to these alternatives. This might strengthen the health advocates claim. Hence, wrong.

B. The taste, smell, and texture of cigars and chewing tobacco are sufficiently different from those of cigarettes to deter cigarette smokers from using them.

If the taste, smell and texture are different from cigarettes, these features might hamper the use of these alternative products and incline more towards smoking cigarettes. It’s not the price rise, but these features which have resulted in either the status quo or increase. This is a weakener, but let’s look for other choices as well.

C. Many health advocates themselves use tobacco products.

There can be overlapping between persons using tobacco products and health advocates. As, profession and personal choice is different. The former is not discussed here. Hence, wrong.

D. The government might also impose significant taxes on cigars and chewing tobacco over the course of two years.

The question speaks about the impact of taxes from next month, while the option speaks about the future proposal which might take place over the course of two years. Another aspect, is the new taxation mentioned in the option might take place or may not. Hence, wrong.

E. Cigars and chewing tobacco are often more expensive than cigarettes.

This option mentions that the price tag on tobacco alternatives are higher when compared to the cigarettes cost. If suppose even after the taxation being increased, the price of cigarettes might land short than the cigar and chewing tobacco. OR There can be a case where, the taxation might have lead to exorbitant increase in price of cigarettes. This would lead the consumer to opt for lower price points - we have different choices for each case. Hence, this weakens the argument more lightly than option B.

Hence,  option B

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation:

B

Step 1: Identify the Question Type

The wording is a little strange (“most strongly weaken”), but this is ultimately a Weaken question.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

The conclusion in this argument is a prediction. According to the conclusion, many current cigarette smokers will shift their spending to cigars and chewing tobacco because of an impending increase in taxes on cigarettes. We could also look at this as a causality argument, as it asserts that the price of cigarettes affects smoking behavior.

Step 3: Predict the Answer

If you are using the plan/proposal/prediction approach, your prediction would be “something that explains why cigarette smokers won’t use cigars or chewing tobacco, even though taxes on cigarettes will increase.” And if you are approaching this argument focusing on causality, your prediction would likely be “another factor that affects smoking behavior.” (The other two ways of weakening causality aren’t very reasonable here—smoking behavior doesn’t affect the price one pays for cigarettes, and we know from the stimulus that the price of cigarettes isn’t set by coincidence.)

Step 4: Evaluate the Choices

(B) effectively weakens the author’s prediction: if the differences in taste, smell, and texture will deter smokers from using cigars and chewing tobacco, then it is unlikely that cigarette smokers will shift their spending to them even if taxes are raised. They may find cigarette smoking prohibitively expensive, but they won’t be likely to switch to other tobacco products, no matter how much cheaper those products are. And if you were looking for a new factor that affects smoking behavior, here there are three: taste, smell, and texture. (A) is a 180. It strengthens the author’s prediction in the last sentence: if cigars and chewing tobacco satisfy the same nicotine cravings as cigarettes, then it is likely that cigarette smokers will buy them instead if taxes on cigarettes are raised. (C) is outside the scope, because the personal habits of health advocates have no bearing on the author’s prediction. (D) is similarly outside the scope: the author’s prediction is concerned only with the spending of consumers next month, not in two years. (E) is tempting at first glance, but it doesn’t provide enough information to weaken the argument. Will cigars and chewing tobacco still be more expensive than cigarettes after the tax increase? Without more specific information, (E) doesn’t weaken the argument.  Choice (B) is correct

The increase in taxes on cigarettes next month will not limit the use

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The increase in taxes on cigarettes next month will not limit the use

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