Ana: On libertarian principles, I oppose the proposed smoking ban.
Ana's 1st Claim
On libertarian, principles, I oppose the proposed smoking ban. Does Pankaj say he does not oppose the smoking ban?
No, nothing definitive. He pushes back against Ana's opposition, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he supports the ban. On LSAT, it's common for someone to disagree with person A's rationale for reaching position X, even though they don't necessarily disagree with position X.
Ana's 2nd Claim
It isn't the government's business to prevent people from doing things that harm only themselves. Does Pankaj say he thinks that it is the government's business sometimes to prevent people from doing things that harm only themselves?
No, he doesn't say anything about the government or what its role is.
Evaluate
Since Pankaj didn't disagree with any of Ana's explicit claims, we should start asking ourselves what Ana was assuming, because maybe Pankaj is disagreeing with an assumption.
The connection between Ana's two sentences assumes that .
Does Pankaj disagree with this?
Yes! He's saying that people are still allowed to smoke all they want in private (it's not preventing people from doing things that harm only themselves). The ban applies only to smoking public spaces (so it's aimed at preventing people from doing things that harm others, in this case preventing cigarette smokers from harming others with their secondhand smoke).
Goal
Look for something like .