CR 09/03

The Brownsville city council, in an effort to motivate residents either to cut down on their smoking or to quit entirely, has placed a ban on smoking in all public places in the city. Area smokers, however, who previously smoked only when they felt an unconscious desire to do so, now consciously choose to smoke when they are at home, in their cars, etc., in order to diminish the chance that the desire to smoke will overtake them in public.
Which of the following, if true, would, when coupled with the information provided above, demonstrate that the city council action has not achieved its intended purpose?

a. Several members of the Brownsville city council are smokers, and these members aggressively opposed the ban.

b. The ban on smoking in public places has resulted in an overall decrease in the sale of cigarettes in the area, causing some local merchants to go out of business.

c.The public ban on smoking has the added benefit of decreasing the amount of second-hand smoke to which nonsmokers are exposed.

d. If the ban were not in effect, smokers in Brownsville would smoke a little less frequently when in nonpublic places.

e. Brownsville smokers now consciously choose to smoke with greater frequency than they previously desired unconsciously to smoke.

SEE comments for answer and explanation