What do you call the following kind of counter-argument?

Not sure I understand your question, but strawman?

@longgone That sounds good to me. Whether the parent wants the children to wind up with health issues or not, although highly unlikely they do, the parent is doing the thing that would cause the health issue.

My response would be “I am not talking about health issues. I’m just asking you to stop smoking around the children. Period.”

@jca but then they would say “So, why do you want me to stop?”, which would lead to “Because of the health issues, of course”.

@flo: If it were me, I’d say “I don’t want smoking around my child. Period. I don’t need a reason. She’s my child. That’s why.”

@flo: For me, the thing is that nobody would say smoking around children is good for them. It’s not good for them to inhale, it’s not good for them to see. Whether the person you are debating with is your husband, the children’s father, or a friend, that’s not the point. The point is, you don’t want the children to be around smoke. Period. If it were my husband, my friend, whatever, that would be the bottom line. I don’t want them around smoke. If you don’t stand your ground and be firm about it, he is going to do it, if he’s that type (the resistant type). I’d tell him take your ass outside.

I don’t know if there is an official name for this, but I see it as sidetracking the issue. Person B is trying to switch the argument to something that is irrelevant. It does not matter what the person intends, but rather what is actually occurring.

I did a little more searching and I found what you may be looking for,red herring It is a term I have heard before, but not in the context of a logical argument.

A veiled personal attack.
“I don’t think that the parents who chain smoke around their children want their children to get lung cancer.” = “You accuse me of wanting to give my children lung cancer? How dare you!”

@jca I am not having the debate with anyone about it. I’ve heard someone use an argument very similar to that though.

Thanks everyone.
Do you think people who say that The Interview is not satirical can only mean that the movie makers are seriously advocating for assassination or not necessarily?

…That is what led to this OP by the way.