VOA双语新闻：14、提高征税 阻止吸烟（在线收听）

提高征税 阻止吸烟

A lot of smokers start using cigarettes when they are teenagers, only to find later on that they can't kick the habit. It's a huge public health concern. As a result, researchers the world over, in government and in private institutions, are working on ways to help people stop smoking.

很多吸烟者都是从十几岁时就开始吸烟，之后才发现戒不掉这个习惯，这是一个巨大的健康隐患，因此，全世界政府和私营机构的研究者正致力于寻找帮助人们戒烟的方法。

In Joanna Cohen's office at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Global Tobacco Control, cigarettes come in all types of packages....some are gruesome, while others are beautiful.

乔安娜·科恩是约翰·霍普金斯全球烟草控制研究所的研究员，她的办公室里有各种各样香烟盒--有的很可怕，有的很漂亮。

With advertising restrictions in so many countries, cigarette companies are using the packages as advertising tools. Governments use them to discourage smoking. Researchers like Cohen say taxes are the best incentive in cutting back on smoking.

因为很多国家都有广告限制，烟草公司正在将包装作为广告工具，而政府则利用包装来劝阻吸烟。科恩等研究人员说，征税是阻止吸烟的最佳动力。

"Taxes are a win-win situation. Smokers smoke less and governments increase their revenue so taxes are our most effective strategy and a win-win proposition," said Cohen.

科恩说：“征税会产生双赢局面，吸烟者会少吸烟，政府能提高收益。所以税收是我们最有效的策略，这是一个双赢的提议。”

The World Health Organization is urging governments to increase taxes on tobacco products.

世界卫生组织正在呼吁政府提高对烟草产品的税收。

The WHO says higher taxes are especially effective in reducing tobacco use among lower income groups and in preventing young people from starting.

世界卫生组织说，高税率可以减少烟草使用，这在防止低收入群体和年轻人吸烟尤其有效。

The organization says a 10 percent tax increase reduces tobacco use by 4 percent in high income countries, and by up to 8 percent in most low- and middle income countries.

世界卫生组织说在高收入国家，增加10%的税率会减少4%的烟草使用，在最低收入国家和中等收入国家可以减少8%以上的烟草使用。

Statistics show there are a billion smokers in the world, almost one out of five people. Tobacco kills up to half of its users.

数据显示，全世界有10亿烟民，几乎每五个人中就有一个人吸烟，烟草致使一半以上的吸烟者死亡。

Some people say if tobacco were banned, they wouldn't smoke at all.

一些人说，如果烟草被禁止，他们就不会再吸烟。

"I’ve been a smoker for 38 years. It’s something that’s so hard for me to stop on my own," said a smoker.

一位吸烟者说：“我的烟龄有38年了，让我自己戒烟太难了。”

Others say they are so addicted they have to smoke, even if they know the health risks.

另一些人说他们已经上瘾了，不得不吸烟，即使他们知道有健康隐患。

"One of the worst addictions in the world is cigarette smoking. Inside my heart, something’s telling me to quit. It’s not the right thing to do to my body and the ones around me," said another.

又一位吸烟者说：“世界上最严重的上瘾就是吸烟，我的内心一直告诉我要戒烟，吸烟对我的身体和周围人都不好。”

Joanna Cohen says governments also have to introduce more strategies so those trying to stop can be more successful.

科恩说，政府也需要采取更多策略，这样戒烟的成功率会更高。

"Seventy percent of smokers say they want to quit. We just need to figure out stategies to help support people in quitting in terms of reducing cues, making the product more inaccessible, harder to get, more expensive and less advertising, less promotion, those sorts of things," she said.

她说： “70%的吸烟者说他们想要戒烟，我们需要找到帮助他们戒烟的策略，减少烟草诱惑，让他们更难接触到烟草产品，更难买到、更贵、广告更少等等。”

Public health experts expect deaths from tobacco use to increase in the years to come, especially in low- and middle income countries, where most of the burden of tobacco-related disease is expected to occur.

公共卫生专家预计，未来几年吸烟致死的人数会上升，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家，预计那些国家承受的吸烟导致的疾病的负担最大。

These experts are hopeful, however, that as proven strategies to prevent smoking are introduced, fewer people will take up the habit.

但是，这些专家表示乐观，随着阻止吸烟手段的提高，吸烟的人会越来越少。