Multiple choice general knowledge

Testifying before the Senate committee investigating charges that cigarette manufacturers had manipulated nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to addict consumers to their products, tobacco executives argued that cigarette smoking is not addictive. The primary reason they gave in support of this claim was that cigarette smoking was not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration. For the tobacco executives' argument to be logically correct, which of the following must be assumed?

  1. Substances that are not addictive are not regulated by ...........the Federal Drug Administration.

  2. The tobacco executives lied when they claimed that ...........cigarette smoking was not addictive.

  3. There is no scientific proof that cigarette smoking is ...........addictive.

  4. Substances that are not regulated by the Federal Drug ...........Administration are not addictive.

  5. Some addictive substances are not regulated by the ...........Federal Drug Administration.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The tobacco executives' argument assumes that if substances are not regulated by the FDA, then they are not addictive. This is a necessary assumption for their logic to hold: they argue smoking is not addictive BECAUSE it's not FDA-regulated, which only works if FDA non-regulation automatically means non-addictive. Without this assumption, their conclusion doesn't follow from the premise.

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