We are told that smokers of pipes or cigars run a lower risk to their health than do cigarette smokers. However, whereas cigarette smokers who quit smoking altogether sharply reduce their risk of smoking related health problems, those who give up cigarettes and take up pipes and cigars (which we were told run a lower risk to smokers than do cigarettes) remain in as much danger as before.
One would surmise that switching from cigarettes to pipes or cigars would at least bring down the danger a little bit. We are tasked with finding the answer that explains why this is not the case.
Let's first look at answer choice (D).
The information given to us in (D) does nothing for us. Whether or not smokers will either exclusively smoke cigarettes or cigars or pipes instead of freely alternating explains nothing about why switching from cigarettes to pipes or cigars does not lower a smokers danger of health problems.
Answer choice (E) helps explain the paradox, however. It explains that those who switch from cigarettes to smoking pipes or cigars inhale smoke in a way that is different from those who have never smoked cigarettes and this could actually influence how much toxicity is absorbed by the smoker. This could explain possibly why even though cigarette smoking runs a distinctly higher risk to one's health than pipe smoking or cigar smoking, switching from cigarettes to pipes or cigars keeps the smoker in the same exact danger as before.
Hope that helps clear things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Julie-VAugust 12, 2019
thank you for explaining why (E) would be correct!
Could you also explain why (C) would be incorrect?
