VOA标准英语2011--Study Says Tobacco Smoking Fuels TB Epidemic

Study Says Tobacco Smoking Fuels TB Epidemic¹

A recent report from the World Health Organization noted² that for the first time, the number of people falling ill and dying from tuberculosis³ is declining. But with nearly one fifth of the world's population today still smoking tobacco, and with millions more exposed to second-hand⁴ smoke, progress against TB could be undermined. That's the conclusion of a new study that predicts smoking will contribute to an additional 34 million TB deaths by 2050.

The World Health Organization's efforts to control the spread of tuberculosis have focused mainly on detecting and treating active TB infections around the world. Far less effort has gone toward addressing the causes of this highly contagious⁵ respiratory disease. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute for Allergy⁶ and Infectious Diseases, believes the campaign against this global killer⁷ would be strengthened if we understood more clearly why people get sick with TB in the first place.

“Despite our control efforts - you still have more than a million people each year dying from TB and millions and millions getting infected. We realize that it's still a very important problem. So we have to do the practical thing (treating people) and we have to do the fundamental research things at the same time,” Fauci said.

A new study of the worldwide TB epidemic by researchers at the University of California in San Francisco concludes that tobacco use, which by itself is a major public health concern, is also an important factor that's working against TB control efforts.

“What this paper shows is that there is a false dichotomy, that you can’t control tuberculosis if you don’t control tobacco use,” said Dr. Stanton Glantz, co-author of the study and director of the University of California's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. He and his colleagues note that smoking does not cause tuberculosis. TB is caused by a bacterium⁸. But smoking depresses the immune system and makes it more likely that a person with a latent lung infection will develop an active and potentially deadly case of TB.

“It (first- and second-hand smoking) increases the number of people who will get tuberculosis by about 7 percent. It increases the number of people projected to die from tuberculosis between now and 2050 by about 26 percent,” Glantz said.

Glantz believes his study, the first to identify this direct link between tobacco use and TB infection and mortality rates, should be of great interest to health policy makers⁹ and those guiding TB control programs.

“Bottom line: if you want to control the infectious disease of TB, you have to control the tobacco industry and the tobacco industry’s efforts to increase tobacco use, particularly in developing countries where TB is a big problem,” Glantz said.

Dr. Glantz's study predicts that in parts of the developing world where TB is already endemic, the situation will get worse if tobacco companies continue to expand their markets. It concludes that aggressive tobacco control measures will enable these countries not only to curb¹⁰ the emphysema, heart disease and lung cancer associated with smoking tobacco, but also to avert¹¹ the millions of additional deaths from tuberculosis.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

4 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

5 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

6 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

7 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

8 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

11 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。