▶ Your Answer : The reading lecture contends that there are several benefits of increasing the tax on cigarettes. On the other hand, the lecturer brings up several points that contradic this argument.
First, the speaker argues that it is doubtful that young people will be less likely to start to smoke if the governments levies higher tax on tobacco. The reason is that, according to a recent study, when the retail price of tobacco goes higher, young people are more likely to buy cigarettes from black markets. To be specific, the high price of cigarettes will lead to the increasment of smuggling, and since the smugglers sell cigarettes cheaply and don't check the ID, it is more likely that the young people including teenagers will buy cigarettes from them.
Second, the lecturer claims that it is unlkiely that increasing the tax price of tobacco will benefit the environment. This is because governments will not be able to raise additional revenue which can be used for the environment. To be specific, if the price of tobacco goes up because of the heavy taxes, fewer people woud buy tobacco. As a result, the tax income will decrease.
The final point made by the lecture is that it is unlikely that the governments can reduce poverty by spending the revenue earned by the higher tobacco tax. To be specific, the tobacco industries create a lot of jobs such as retailing and manufacturing. However, if the price of tobacco increases and many jobs related to tobacco disappear, the unemployment and poverty will increase and the situation will become worse. |