DEVELOPMENT REPORT - WHO Tobacco Atlas

DEVELOPMENT REPORT – November 11, 2002: WHO Tobacco Atlas¹

By Jill Moss²

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

The World Health Organization has released³ a new report on smoking tobacco. It is called
the “Tobacco Atlas.
”
The study says that five-hundred-sixty people die every hour from
smoking tobacco. That is more than thirteen-thousand people each day, or almost five-
million people every year.

W-H-O officials say the Tobacco Atlas is the first of its kind for the health industry. They
say it will help educate people and policy makers⁴ about the health problems tobacco has
created for the world’s population.

The United States Centers for Disease⁵ Control and Prevention helped produce the Tobacco
Atlas. It includes many colorful pictures, maps and images to help explain difficult information.

World Health Organization officials say this will help readers understand the facts and use them effectively.
Similarities and differences among countries are presented. There is also information about the risks from
tobacco to individual health. And there is information about what governments must pay to fight the illegal
transport of tobacco into their countries.

Judith Mackay was one of the writers of the Tobacco Atlas. She says that tobacco is doing the most damage in
developing countries, especially those in Asia. In China, for example, she says about seven-hundred-fiftythousand people die each year from tobacco. Around the world, fifty percent of young smokers⁶ will die from
tobacco-related causes. Doctor Mackay warns the problem will worsen over time.

Doctor Mackay hopes that policy makers will use the Tobacco Atlas as they begin to consider national and
international restrictions⁷ on tobacco. Officials from W-H-O member states met recently in Geneva, Switzerland
to discuss the issue. They hope to have an agreement on tobacco control ready for W-H-O approval⁸ by May of
next year. The agreement could include a ban on advertisements for smoking and higher taxes on tobacco.

The W-H-O says tobacco smoking may kill more than eight-million people a year by the year two-thousandtwenty if control measures are not put in place soon. Experts say more than seventy percent of the deaths will be
in developing countries.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.

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1 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

2 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 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》

5 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

6 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。