2006年VOA标准英语-Strictest US Anti-Smoking Ban Now in Effec

By Amy Katz
Washington, DC
21 March 2006
 
watch Smoking Ban report
 
  
  
The strictest smoking ban in the U.S. recently took effect in Calabasas, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.  The town's mayor says people do not have a right to smoke.  The ban is part of a growing trend in the U.S. and Europe.  As Amy Katz reports, it is trend that seems to be contributing to a drop in the number of smokers² and in the consumption of cigarettes.

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Calabasas is the latest of the more than 2,000 U.S. cities and counties to ban smoking, but its law is the toughest one yet -- prohibiting smoking in all public places -- indoors and outdoors. 

Mayor Barry Groveman says people have a right to breathe clean air. "There is no right to smoke.  There is a right to protect public safety."

 
Amanda Schwartz
  
Smoker¹ Amanda Schwartz does not see it that way. "It is kind of unconstitutional, because people should have the right to do whatever they want as long as it is not affecting anybody else."

Advocates of smoking bans say secondhand smoke -- cigarette, cigar or pipe smoke that is inhaled³ unintentionally by non-smokers -- does have a harmful effect.  It appears that the smoking bans are helping⁴ to prevent that.
 
  
  
In 2005, U.S. cigarette sales fell to a 55-year low.  Health officials and advocates attribute the drop in large part to anti-smoking campaigns -- including no-smoking policies. 

Dr. Stanton Glantz, of the Center for Tobacco Control Research, says "When you make workplaces, public places, restaurants and bars smoke free, people smoke less, they sell fewer cigarettes."

Stanton Glantz   
  
But do smoking bans really get people to quit smoking? The answer appears to be yes. 

A number of studies show the bans discourage children from starting to smoke, reduce the number of cigarettes people smoke, prompt more people to quit smoking and increase the number of successful attempts to quit. 

David Spalding smoked for 20 years, but stopped when his employer -- health insurer Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Minnesota -- banned smoking in and around its offices.  He says he would still be smoking if it were not for the company's strict policy. "I did not want to be driving off campus (away from his workplace) to have a cigarette in a car.  It was that simple.  And that was my catalyst⁵."

 
Dr. Marc Manley
  
Spalding is not alone, according to company Vice⁶ President Dr. Marc Manley. "When we started the policy, about 18 percent of our employees smoked.  And a year after the policy had been in place, the smoking rate was 15 percent."

The trend to ban smoking has now spread to Europe.  Ireland banned smoking in its legendary⁷ pubs two years ago and Britain is soon to follow suit.  While the number of smokers is falling in highly developed countries, it is still on the rise in developing nations.  Smoking is the second largest cause of death in the world -- killing⁸ about five million people a year. 

A new study by the World Health Organization provides more evidence that people -- across the globe -- should try to stop smoking.  It is the largest and longest international study ever done, to look at the consequences of cigarette smoking.  It found that people who smoke are much more likely to die in middle age than people who have never smoked or people who have smoked and quit.

1 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

2 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。

3 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 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。