VOA标准英语2013--When a Smoker Lights Up May Increase Risk

 

When a Smoker¹ Lights Up May Increase Risk

The health risks of cigarette smoking are well known, such as cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular disease. But new research shows that when you smoke can make it even more risky².

Tobacco remains³ the leading cause of preventable death, according to the World Health Organization. It estimates six million people die every year from smoking-related illnesses, most in low and middle income countries.

A new study looks at smokers⁴, who light-up right after waking up each morning. Penn State University researchers say those smokers are more likely to develop lung or oral cancer.

“For a lot of years, one of the ways people had been assessing nicotine⁵ dependence⁶ was through a measure called the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence. It was about eight to ten items and one of those items was how soon after waking you smoke your first cigarette -- one of the very best indicators⁸ of dependence. Even more so interestingly than the actual number of cigarettes somebody smokes per day,” said Steven Branstetter, an assistant professor of biobehavioral health.

He and his colleague, Professor Joshua Muscat, think they know why.

“What we theorize is happening is that it’s really an indicator⁷ of how people go about smoking their cigarettes. And what I mean by that is people who are smoking first thing in the morning inhale⁹ deeper. They probably have more puffs¹¹ per cigarette. So, it’s really an indicator of how people go about smoking, probably moreso than anything else that we’re looking at,” he said.

Inhaling¹² more deeply, holding smoke within the lungs longer and taking more puffs, greatly increases exposure to all toxins¹³. 

“But most importantly,” said Branstetter, “what we found is they’re getting exposure to a nicotine-specific nitrosamine or carcinogen.

That’s something that can cause cancer. Branstetter says the carcinogen in question is called NNK. As the body metabolizes it a substance called NNAL is produced. That’s found in high-levels in people who smoke immediately after waking up.

“Having a reasonably high presence of it increases the risk. How much? We’re not sure yet. [Are] there things that people do that modify that risk? We’re not sure about that yet either. We’re still relatively¹⁴ early in that phase of our research. But we do know that when we find it there in the urine it does indicate some increased risk of lung cancer,” he said.

The study’s findings are based on data from nearly 2000 adult smokers. More than 30 percent said they smoked their first cigarette within five minutes of waking. Nearly the same amount said they took their first puff¹⁰ within 6 to 30 minutes of waking up.

Branstetter said, “Some people have asked should I just smoke later in the day. Would that help it? And the answer is I don’t think it’s going to help anything right now. People are never really aware of how dependent they themselves are. The recommendation might be if you’re a smoker, notice how soon after you wake up that you smoke your first cigarette. That is going to be a pretty good indicator of your level of not only potential, later on risk for lung cancer, but it’s a pretty good indicator of how dependent on nicotine you actually are.”

The Penn State University researchers say the next step is to give smokers devices that scientifically measure how deeply they inhale when they smoke throughout the day.

The findings appear in the March 29th issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. 

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 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

7 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

8 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

9 inhale   

v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)

参考例句：

• Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。
• They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

10 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

11 puffs   

n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
• Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

12 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

13 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。