VOA慢速英语2021--新西兰有新的控烟计划

New Zealand Has New Plan to End Smoking

New Zealand's government believes it has come up with a new plan to end tobacco smoking: a lifetime ban for those aged¹ 14 or younger.

Under a new law the government plans to pass next year, the lowest age to buy cigarettes would keep rising year after year.

The yearly increase could mean that 65 years after the law takes effect, shoppers could still buy cigarettes — but only if they could prove they were at least 80 years old.

Officials hope smoking will disappear many years before then. The new plan sets a goal of having fewer than 5 percent of New Zealanders smoking by 2025.

Other parts of the plan include allowing only the sale of tobacco products with very low nicotine² levels and reducing the number of stores that can sell such products. The changes would be brought in over a set period of time to help sellers deal with the market changes.

The minimum age to buy cigarettes in New Zealand is now 18 years old. So, the lifetime smoking ban for youth would not have an effect for a few years.

In a discussion with The Associated Press, New Zealand's Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall said her work at a public hospital in Wellington involved telling several smokers³ they had developed cancer.

"You meet, every day, someone facing the misery⁴ caused by tobacco," said Verrall, who is organizing the new plan. "The most horrible ways people die. Being short of breath, caused by tobacco."

For years, smoking rates have fallen in New Zealand. About 11 percent of adults smoke, with 9 percent smoking every day. Daily smoking remains⁵ high among Indigenous⁶ Maori at 22 percent. Under the government's plan, a new group would be created to help reduce smoking among Maori.

Big tax increases have already been put on cigarettes in recent years. Some question why the tax levels were not increased even further.

"We don't think tax increases will have any further impact," Verrall said.

Verrall added the tax measures have a greater effect on lower-income people, who are more likely to smoke.

The new law would not deal with vaping. Verrall said that tobacco smoking is far more harmful and remains a leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, killing⁷ up to 5,000 people each year.

New Zealand's plan to ban the next generation from tobacco smoking has not been tried elsewhere, she said.

But she said studies have shown youth tobacco sales decrease when minimum ages are raised. In the U.S., the federal minimum age to buy tobacco products was raised from 18 to 21 two years ago.

While public health experts have generally welcomed the New Zealand plan, not everybody is happy.

Sunny Kaushal said some stores could be put out of business. Kaushal leads the Dairy and Business Owners Group, which represents nearly 5,000 corner stores and gas stations in New Zealand.

"We all want a smoke-free New Zealand," he said. "But this is going to hugely impact small businesses. It should not be done so it is destroying dairies, lives and families in the process. It's not the way."

In New Zealand, the term dairy means a small, local store.

Kaushal said the tax increases on tobacco had already created an illegal market that gangs were operating in, and the problem would only get worse. He said smoking was already nearing its end in New Zealand and would disappear on its own.

Kaushal described the new plan as "being driven by academics."

But Verrall said she did not believe the government was going too far, because data show that most smokers want to quit anyway.

Words in This Story

nicotine – n. a substance in tobacco that makes it difficult for people to stop smoking cigarettes

misery –n. extreme suffering or unhappiness

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

minimum – n. the lowest number or amount that is possible or allowed — usually singular

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

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。
• 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。

3 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。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。