Antoine: The alarming fact is that among children aged 19 years and younger, the number taking antipsychotic medicines soared 73 percent in the last four years. That is greater than the increase in the number of adults taking antipsychotic medicines during the same period.
Lucy: But the use of antipsychotic drugs by adults is considered normal at the current rate of 11 adults per 1,000 taking the drugs. In contrast, the number of children on antipsychotic medication last year was 6.6 per 1,000 children.
Lucy’s argument relies on the assumption that ______.
A) normal levels of antipsychotic drug use are rarely exceeded.
B) the percentage of adults taking antipsychotic medication is always higher than the percentage of children on such medication.
C) the use of antipsychotic medication in children is no different from the use of such medications in adults.
D) Antoine is not consciously distorting the statistics he presents.
E) a rapid increase in the number of children taking antipsychotic drugs generates more fear of random violence by adolescents than does knowledge of the absolute number of children on such medications.
GMAT Forum