▶ Your Answer :
In
the reading passage, there is ample support for the author’s claim that increasing
tax on tobacco products will be beneficial. However, the professor in the lecture
gives several reasons as a rebuttal to the author’s point.
First,
the professor contends that it will not reduce the number of young people who
start smoking. Due to the fact that black market is still exist, dealer will
sell cigarettes to teenagers cheaper. To make matter worse, black markets are
easy to access and do not check id card. This casts doubt on the reading
passage’s claim that by increasing tobacco price, youth will spend money less on
it than adults.
Next,
the professor insists that requiring more tax on cigarettes will not contribute
to environment. This is because tax would not increase to add budget for planting
trees or clean harmful chemicals. To be more specific, if price of cigarettes
rises, less people would buy them and eventually government revenue would be decreased
also. This counters the reading passage’s assertion that using increased
government budget from tax on tobacco for repairing damage of environment problem
will be helpful.
Finally,
the professor argues that higher tax of tobacco would not lower the poverty. He
said that tobacco creates a lot of jobs in many fields, such as agriculture,
manufacturing and retailer. If the amount of produce is diminished, they will
lose their job. In the long run it will deteriorate poverty. This refutes the
reading passage’s suggestion that increased tax will make enough funds to be used
for social welfare.
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