The lecture opposes the passage’s point about the benefits of policy of imposing high taxes on
cigarettes and other unhealthy products, contending the arguments in the reading are not
convincing.
Firstly, in the reading passage, the author states that the taxes will discourage from indulging in
unhealthy behaviors. For example, raising taxes on cigarettes will leads people to buy fewer of
them. However, in the lecture, the professor opposes that raising taxes on unhealthy products
like cigarettes won’t let the people to buy fewer of them and form a healthy behavior, but people
will continue to buy these unhealthy products. For example, people will buy the cigarettes with
lower taxes to avoid the high expense due to taxes.
Secondly, in the reading passage, the author points out that the taxes on cigarettes and other
unhealthy products are financially fair. Because the taxes on those unhealthy products will
creates a extra income that can be used to cober the medical cost and it won’t let those one who
has good behaviors to afford the medical cost created by the person who get sick because of
their unhealthy behaviors. On contrast, in the lecture, the professor argues that because the
group which contains person who has unhealthy behaviors includes both high-earning person
and low earning person, then the taxes on the unhealthy products will be a greater pressure to
the low-earning person than the high-earning person.
Thirdly, in the reading passage, the author states that the high rate of taxation on cigarettes
significantly increase the revenue of the government, and government can use this revenue on
medical assistance and public welfare. In the contrary, in the lecture, the professor argues that
the revenue created by the taxes on the cigarettes has a downside to the government, because
that as the revenue may be millions and millions of dollars, the government will be dependent on
it, and the government won’t introduce forceful policy, for example they may not banning
smoking in all outdoor areas.