Explanation

- Addiction to nicotine prevents many people from quitting
- Government plans to reduce the maximum allowable quantity of nicotine per cigarette.
- This will probably cause people addicted to nicotine to smoke more cigarettes.

Conclusion: Implementing this plan (reducing nicotine in cigs) is unlikely to reduce the incidence of smoking related illnesses.

What will strengthen the conclusion that the plan will not reduce illnesses?

(A) Over half of the nonsmoking adults in Normark have smoked cigarettes in the past.

How this number will be impacted because of the plan, we do not know.

(B) most cigarettes currently sold in Normark contain somewhat less than the maximum amount of nicotine permitted by law.

Irrelevant. The plan is to further reduce the amount of nicotine to reduce addiction.

(C) Inexpensive, smoke-free sources of nicotine, such as nicotine gum and nicotine skin patches, have recently become available in Normark.

How it will impact the sale of cigarettes, we don't know.

(D) Many smokers in Normark already spend a large proportion of their disposable income on cigarettes.

This implies that people may not be able to buy more cigarettes. Hence, reduced nicotine consumption may reduce addiction. The plan may actually work. This is not what we are looking for!

(E) The main cause of smoking-related illnesses is not nicotine but tar in cigarette smoke.

Correct! People who continue smoking the same number of cigarettes with reduced nicotine are unlikely to get better health because tar causes health problems. Also, reducing nicotine may make people smoke more cigarettes leading to more tar consumption and hence more health problems. So the plan to reduce health problems may not actually work.

Answer (E)