PrepTest 102, Section 2, Question 17
Nicotine has long been known to cause heart(45 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- APeople who smoke(18 more words not shown)
- BChemicals other than(21 more words not shown)
- CPeople who chew(19 more words not shown)
- DChemicals other than(14 more words not shown)
- EChemicals other than(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The nicotine amounts are equal. So what else differs between the groups?
The long comparison boils down to this: people who smoke cigarettes but don't chew tobacco have more heart attacks and high blood pressure than people who chew tobacco but don't smoke. Both groups receive the same amount of nicotine. A larger nicotine dose in the smoking group therefore can't be our explanation.
Other chemicals could matter. So could other habits: perhaps one group exercises more. Equal exposure to one harmful substance doesn't make two groups identical in every respect.
What we’re looking for
We're looking for the answer that helps least to resolve this difference. Four choices should supply some reason for the smoking group's worse cardiovascular outcomes. Keep those outcomes specific. The question isn't simply which group has worse health in any possible way.
Working the answers
- A
Less exercise among the smokers provides another relevant difference between the groups. It gives us a reason for their cardiovascular health to be worse even with equal nicotine exposure. That helps explain the pattern, so it isn't the exception.
- B
These other chemicals would reduce nicotine's cardiovascular effects in the chewing group. Equal amounts of nicotine could then have different effects because one group also receives something that counteracts them. The answer supplies a protective difference, so it helps resolve the discrepancy.
- C
A healthier diet among the people who chew tobacco gives another possible explanation for their better cardiovascular outcomes. The study holds nicotine exposure equal, not every health-related habit. This is another relevant difference and therefore not the answer we're seeking.
- DCorrect
Cancer is not the outcome we're trying to explain. Chemicals in chewing tobacco causing cancer would give us another concern about that product, but it doesn't explain why the cigarette smokers have more heart attacks and high blood pressure. D may matter greatly to an overall health comparison; it helps least with this specific discrepancy.
- E
Cigarette smoke containing an additional substance that raises blood pressure would help explain why the smoking group's blood pressure is higher. The nicotine may be equal, but the extra substance isn't. E supplies part of the missing explanation and therefore is not the exception.
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