▶ Your Answer : The reading passage contends that increasing a special tax on tobacco would have several advantages. On the other hand, the lecturer brings up several points that contradict this argument. First of all, the lecturer points that the young people would still buy tobacco even with the increase of the tax on it. This is attributed to the fact that there is a black market, where Smugglers sell cigarette. They sell it cheaper than the real market so the young people are able to afford it. Also, smugglers sell it even without checking the ID, so people aged 12 to 24 can buy it. This refutes the author’s point that the increasing tax on cigarettes can make young people to buy it less. Moreover, in the lecture, the point is made that there wouldn’t be a additional provision of money to fight environmental problems. This is because there wouldn’t be enough revenue for the government to afford it. With the raising of the tax on tobacco, few people will buy it. It leads to a decrease in sale and eventually a decrease in a tax revenue. This casts doubt on the idea in the reading passage that rising the tax on cigarettes will help repair the environmental harm caused by the cultivation of tobacco. The final point made by the lecturer is that the increased tax revenues will not be helpful to reduce poverty. It is obvious that tobacco industry is providing a lot of jobs in parts such as agriculture, manufacture and sales. However many jobs will disappear with the reduce of the demand on cigarettes. As a result, such unemployment will lead to more poverty. This is different from the passage’s view that higher revenues can help poor people. |