Cigarettes may have to be sold in plain packets - PAU Valencia 2013

>Exámenes selectividad inglés Comunidad Valenciana resueltos

Cigarette packets could be stripped of all branding following a consultation, the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, has revealed. The minister said that he was “open minded” about putting the idea of plain cigarette packaging to the public, but added: “We don’t work in partnership with the tobacco companies because we are trying to arrive at a point where they have no business in this country.”
Deborah Arnott, of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The consultation is just the first step, putting us in pole position to be the first European nation to put tobacco in plain, standardised packs. “Cigarettes are not like sweets or toys and should not be sold in colourful packaging which makes them appealing to children. Cigarettes are full of toxins and cause fatal diseases: plain, standardised packaging makes this explicit.”
But pro-smoking group Forest, the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco, has launched a Hands Off Our Packs (Hoops) campaign. Director Simon Clark has described plain packaging as “the persecution of a minority lifestyle choice”. He said: “Plain packaging is yet another attack on retailers and adult consumers.”
The move comes a week after a law on tobacco promotion in England came into force, requiring all large shops and supermarkets to cover up cigarettes and hide tobacco products from public view. Lansley, who said that all levels of smoking are harmful, added that the ban on displaying cigarettes was part of a move to ensure “we no longer see smoking as a part of life.”

David Batty, The Guardian, 13 April 2012

RESPUESTAS

READING COMPREHENSION

I. Answer the following questions using your own words but taking into account the information in the text.

• a. Why should cigarettes be sold in plain packets? PAR. 2
• b. Why was tobacco hidden from public view in large shops and supermarkets? PAR. 4

II. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? Identify the part of the text that supports your answer by copying the exact passage on the answer sheet.

a. According to the minister, companies will always have the right to sell cigarettes in England.

• FALSE: ...we are trying to arrive at a point where they have no business in this country.

b. According to Arnott, standardized packaging makes it clear that tobacco is dangerous.

• TRUE: Cigarettes are full of toxins and cause fatal diseases: plain, standardised packaging makes this explicit.

c. According to Lansley, some levels of smoking are not dangerous.

• FALSE: ...all levels of smoking are harmful.

III. Find a synonym for each of the four words below from these six options:

plain appealing cause choice requiring ban

• a. prohibition → ban
• b. attractive → appealing
• c. generic → plain
• d. demanding → requiring

IV. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct.

1. The minister wants to reach a point in which...

• a. tobacco companies hide their product from public view.
• b. tobacco companies can’t sell cigarettes in England.
• c. tobacco companies use the same colourful packaging.

2. England...

• a. is the first European nation in which cigarettes are sold in plain packaging.
• b. will not be the first European nation in which cigarettes are sold in plain packaging.
• c. might be the first European nation in which cigarettes are sold in plain packaging.

3. The pro-smoking group Forest...

• a. thinks that plain packaging is an aggression on smokers’ freedom of choice.
• b. thinks that plain packaging should not be hidden from public view.
• c. thinks that plain packaging will not attract children.

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