LSAT Explanation PT 32, S4, Q5: Cigarette companies claim that manufacturing both

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the finding of the nicotine study? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Paradox question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is A. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the information in the passage. The passage says that cigarette companies claim that manufacturing both low- and high-nicotine cigarettes allows smokers to choose how much nicotine they want. However, a recent study has shown that the levels of nicotine found in the blood of smokers who smoke one pack of cigarettes per day are identical at the end of a day's worth of smoking, regardless of the level of nicotine in the cigarettes they smoke. This is a paradox, as we would expect smokers of high-nicotine cigarettes to have higher nicotine levels in their blood.

To make this more understandable, let's use a simple example. Imagine two people drinking soda: one person drinks one can of regular soda, while the other drinks one can of diet soda. We would expect the person drinking regular soda to consume more sugar than the person drinking diet soda. However, the passage tells us that in the case of nicotine, both smokers end up with the same nicotine levels in their blood, even though they smoke cigarettes with different nicotine levels.

Now, let's examine the answer choices to see which one helps to explain this paradox. Remember that we are looking for an answer choice that explains why the nicotine levels in the blood are the same for both smokers.

a) Blood cannot absorb more nicotine per day than that found in the smoke from a package of the lowest-nicotine cigarettes available.

This answer choice explains the paradox by stating that there is a limit to how much nicotine the blood can absorb per day, which is equal to the amount of nicotine in a pack of low-nicotine cigarettes. This means that even if a smoker smokes high-nicotine cigarettes, their blood will not absorb more nicotine than the limit, resulting in the same nicotine levels for both smokers. This is the correct answer.

b) Smokers of the lowest-nicotine cigarettes available generally smoke more cigarettes per day than smokers of high-nicotine cigarettes.

This answer choice is not relevant to the paradox because the passage specifically talks about smokers who smoke one pack of cigarettes per day. This answer choice discusses a different scenario where smokers smoke different numbers of cigarettes, so it does not help to explain the paradox.

c) Most nicotine is absorbed into the blood of a smoker even if it is delivered in smaller quantities.

This answer choice does not help to explain the paradox because it suggests that smokers of high-nicotine cigarettes should have higher nicotine levels in their blood since they are absorbing most of the nicotine from their cigarettes.

d) The level of tar in cigarettes is higher in low-nicotine cigarettes than it is in some high-nicotine cigarettes.

This answer choice does not help to explain the paradox because it discusses the level of tar in cigarettes, not nicotine levels. We cannot make any judgment about how tar affects nicotine levels from this information.

e) When taking in nicotine by smoking cigarettes is discontinued, the level of nicotine in the blood decreases steadily.

This answer choice does not help to explain the paradox because it discusses what happens after smoking is stopped, not why the nicotine levels rise to identical levels regardless of the kind of cigarette smoked.

In conclusion, answer choice (a) is the correct answer, as it explains the paradox by stating that there is a limit to how much nicotine the blood can absorb per day, which results in the same nicotine levels for both smokers who smoke one pack of cigarettes per day, regardless of the level of nicotine in the cigarettes they smoke.