The War on Smoking - IELTS Reading Answers

The Sentence Completion question type in the IELTS Reading test assesses your ability to understand key details, paraphrasing, and grammatical accuracy. You will be asked to complete sentences using words directly taken from the passage, like in ‘The War on Smoking IELTS Reading Answers’. The challenge lies in locating the correct section, interpreting the meaning precisely, and maintaining grammatical consistency.

In this blog, you will get to solve a practice passage, ‘The War on Smoking IELTS Reading Answers’ followed by IELTS Reading Sentence Completion questions and detailed tips focused exclusively on this task.

Passage for The War on Smoking Reading Answers

Given below is the ‘The War on Smoking IELTS Reading Answers' passage that you can go through and prepare yourself for the reading section to prepare for your desired IELTS band score.

The War on Smoking

Make no mistake, the move to introduce plain packaging is just the latest front in the war against smoking. Over the past decade, there has been a ban on smoking in public places and moves to restrict displays in shops. But one of the issues that has been concerning health experts and ministers is the number of people who continue to take up smoking, particularly young people.

More than 200,000 under-16’s start in the UK each year – helping ensure a viable market remains for manufacturers once the number of people quitting and dying is taken into account. In countries like the UK where there is a ban on advertising, the pack remains the last major vehicle for promotion. Hence the detail and care taken in the design of the packets with their laminated and special print effects, foil decorations and slide openings and bevelled edges. It should come as no surprise therefore to learn that they have become known as the “silent salesman” and “mobile billboard” within the industry. They are that important.

Questions for The War on Smoking Reading Answers

 Now, let us solve the passage ‘The War on Smoking’, which will help you get acquainted with IELTS Reading sentence completion questions to prepare for different IELTS Reading topics for General and Academic.

Questions 1-4

1 __________ is the most recent strategy to tackle the problem of smoking.

2 The large number of new smokers, particularly under 16’s, makes certain that cigarette companies will always have a__________

3 In some countries, packaging is the only method that cigarette companies have for __________.

4 Packets are seen as being the __________ in the cigarette industry.

Answers for The War on Smoking IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanation

Check out the detailed explanations for the ‘The War on Smoking’ reading passage questions given above, and get an idea of how to ace IELTS Reading with 'Keyword Technique', solve them, and improve your reading skills.

1 Answer: Plain packaging

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 1, line 1

Answer explanation: Plain packaging has been introduced as the latest strategy to curb smoking. Hence, the answer is plain packaging.

2 Answer: Viable market

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 1

Answer explanation: Since the number of people who smoke increases every year, especially young people who are aged under 16, cigarette companies have a viable market to which they can discreetly promote and sell their products. Hence, the answer is viable market.

3 Answer: Promotion

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 4

Answer explanation: In some countries like the UK, advertising of cigarettes is banned. As a result, cigarette companies have to resort to other measures such as taking care to design detailed foils and packaging so that it can indirectly act as a promotion for the cigarettes. Hence, the answer is promotion.

4 Answer: Silent salesman/mobile billboard (any one)

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, line 7

Answer explanation: The detailed effort put into designing cigarette packets by companies lead to such packaging indirectly promoting the cigarettes as advertisement is banned. Such packets may have eye-catching features such as laminated and special print effects, foil decorations, slide openings, bevelled edges. These contribute to making cigarette packaging act as silent salesman/mobile billboards. Hence, the answer is silent salesman/mobile billboard (choose any one of these).

Tips for Answering the Question Type in The War on Smoking Reading Answers

Now, let’s review the IELTS exam preparation tips for achieving a band score of 8+ for the question type in the The War on Smoking Reading Answers. This will help you learn how to approach each question type effectively.

• Predict the word type before you search: Before scanning the text, analyse the blank. For example, in the question “the most recent strategy to tackle…”, you need a noun phrase that fits grammatically. 
  • Prediction: ‘plan,’ ‘approach’, or ‘policy.’ This prediction helps you find plain packaging faster when reading.
• Trace the logic of the sentence, not just the keywords: Keywords like “strategy” or “smoking” appear often, but IELTS tests logical understanding. For example, in Question 1, “strategy to tackle smoking”, the logic points to something introduced or implemented, leading you to “the move to introduce plain packaging.”
• Be aware of synonyms and paraphrasing patterns: IELTS uses rewording to test comprehension. So, you need to practice linking such paraphrase chains to improve accuracy. For example:
  • “Move to introduce” → means “strategy to tackle.”
  • “Last major vehicle for promotion” → means ‘only method for promotion’.
• Avoid distractors that look grammatically right but are contextually wrong: Some words fit grammatically but not logically. For example, “ban on advertising” fits the question grammatically, but the context shows the answer is promotion. So, always check that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence, not just grammatically.
• Always verify the word limit with the text: If the instruction says “NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER”, then you have to follow it. The IELTS test penalises even correct answers if they exceed the limit.
  • “Plain packaging” = Correct (two words)
  • “The plain packaging” = Wrong (three words)
• Confirm grammatical fit after filling the blank: Read the complete sentence again: “Plain packaging is the most recent strategy to tackle the problem of smoking.” If it sounds natural and grammatically correct, your answer likely fits. This quick verification step prevents subtle grammar errors.
• Follow the order of information in the passage: In IELTS Reading, Sentence Completion questions usually follow the same order as the text. Here, Question 1’s answer appears in paragraph 1, while Questions 2–4 are in paragraph 2. This allows you to locate answers progressively rather than searching the entire passage.
• Use clue words to identify the correct sentence quickly: Developing this skill saves time and reduces second-guessing. For example, 
  • Strategy/latest front → indicates Question 1 area.
  • Young people/under-16’s → indicates Question 2 area.
  • Advertising/promotion → indicates Question 3 area.
  • Known as/within the industry → indicates Question 4 area.
• Note how visual or descriptive details support the main idea: In Question 4, the packaging’s “laminated and special print effects, foil decorations, slide openings” all lead logically to the idea of a silent salesman. Paying attention to such descriptions helps you connect supporting details to the main point.
• Practise paraphrasing from text to question regularly: This question type demands constant paraphrasing recognition. Training yourself to spot these paraphrases can significantly boost your speed and accuracy. Example conversion from passage → question:
  • Passage: “the pack remains the last major vehicle for promotion”
  • Question: “packaging is the only method that cigarette companies have for ___”.

To conclude, sentence completion tasks in IELTS Reading measure both precise understanding and linguistic control. The key is to read intelligently, not just quickly, by predicting word forms, recognizing paraphrases, and confirming grammatical sense. With consistent practice on authentic passages like the one above and complete IELTS Reading practice tests, you can turn this seemingly tricky question type into one of your strongest areas.

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