Nicotine has long been known to cause heart attacks and high blood pre

Question

Nicotine has long been known to cause heart attacks and high blood pressure. Yet a recent study has shown that the incidence of heart attacks and high blood pressure is significantly higher among cigarette smokers who do not chew tobacco than among nonsmokers exposed to an equal amount of nicotine through tobacco chewing.

Which one of the following, if true, helps LEAST to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

Which one of the following, if true, helps LEAST to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

(A) People who smoke but do not chew tobacco tend to exercise less than those who chew tobacco but do not smoke.

(B) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke mitigate the effects that nicotine has on the cardiovascular system.

(C) People who chew tobacco but do not smoke tend to have healthier diets than those who smoke but do not chew tobacco.

(D) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke can cause cancer.

(E) Chemicals other than nicotine present in cigarette smoke but not present in chewing tobacco raise blood pressure.

ArunSharma12 · Answer

A study reveals that people who chew tobacco have higher heart attacks and high blood pressure than people who chew tobacco, even though Nicotine is present in both of these items. 
any option that helps to understand why chewing tobacco is less harmful than cigarette smoking is not the correct answer.

(A) People who smoke but do not chew tobacco tend to exercise less than those who chew tobacco but do not smoke.
 This explains why people who chew tobacco get less heart attacks and high blood pressure than people who smoke.

(B) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke mitigate the effects that nicotine has on the cardiovascular system.
 This explains why chewing tobacco is less harmful than smoking cigarette

(C) People who chew tobacco but do not smoke tend to have healthier diets than those who smoke but do not chew tobacco.
 same as option A & B, this helps to understand the effects mentioned in the passage

(D) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke can cause cancer.
 This talks about some other disease, cancer, which can be caused by chewing tobacco, but does nothing to explain why chewing tobacco might not cause higher heart attacks and high blood pressure than smoking cigarette

(E) Chemicals other than nicotine present in cigarette smoke but not present in chewing tobacco raise blood pressure.
 this explains why smoking cigarette causes high blood pressure

Ans: D

h31337u · Answer

Nicotine has long been known to cause heart attacks and high blood pressure. Yet a recent study has shown that the incidence of heart attacks and high blood pressure is significantly higher among cigarette smokers who do not chew tobacco than among nonsmokers exposed to an equal amount of nicotine through tobacco chewing.

Which one of the following, if true, helps LEAST to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

Which one of the following, if true, helps LEAST to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

(A) People who smoke but do not chew tobacco tend to exercise less than those who chew tobacco but do not smoke.
 This explains why People who some but do not chew tobacco have higher blood pressure and greater incidence of heart attacks
 
(B) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke mitigate the effects that nicotine has on the cardiovascular system.
 This explains that even though both chewing and smoking have the same amount of nicotine, it is not likely for a tobacco chewing person to have such diseases than for the smokers.

(C) People who chew tobacco but do not smoke tend to have healthier diets than those who smoke but do not chew tobacco.
 This explains why people who chew tobacco are healthier
 
(D) Chemicals other than nicotine present in chewing tobacco but not present in cigarette smoke can cause cancer.
 This talks about cancer, a disease that the argument does not mention
 
(E) Chemicals other than nicotine present in cigarette smoke but not present in chewing tobacco raise blood pressure.
 This presents another factor for a smoker to have higher blood pressure and greater incidences of the heart attacks. 
 
___________________________
 The answer is "D".

aryanm98 · Answer

For some reason, it took me a while to wrap my head around the stimulus. Once I did understand that smokers are more prone to heart attacks and blood pressure than tobacco chewers, the answer became easy - D

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.

Nicotine has long been known to cause heart attacks and high blood pre

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Nicotine has long been known to cause heart attacks and high blood pre

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards