How to answer a question on a generational smoking ban in a medical school interview
- Kind
- Policy and health systems
Prompt
Should a government ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after a certain year, so that eventually no adult can legally buy them?
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How to approach this question
What this question tests
- Critical thinking
- Ethical reasoning
- Health systems and advocacy
How to approach it
This panel question tests how you weigh a government's power to protect future generations from smoking against adults' freedom to make their own choices. Lay out the case for a generational ban: fewer young people start, and the harm to individuals and to the health system falls over time. Then lay out the case against: two adults of nearly the same age would have different rights, illegal markets may grow, and the ban sets a precedent for other risky products. Say what you'd want to know, such as how enforcement would work and whether places that have tried it saw results. Take a clear position, and name the evidence that would change your mind.
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