World No Tobacco Day: A Chance for Smokers to Give Their Bodies a Cigarette Break Written by George Grow 30 May 2006 MUSIC VOICE ONE: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English
Trang 1World No Tobacco Day: A Chance for Smokers to Give Their Bodies a Cigarette Break
Written by George Grow
30 May 2006
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VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English I’m Bob Doughty
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Faith Lapidus On our program this week, the health risks of smoking and some advice about how to stop
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VOICE ONE:
For many years, scientists have warned that tobacco is bad for your health Yet millions of people around the world continue
to smoke
The World Health Organization estimates that each year, smoking is responsible for the deaths of five million people And that number is increasing At current rates, W.H.O officials say tobacco use could kill ten million people a year by two thousand twenty
In the United States, a nation of almost three hundred million people, an estimated forty-four million adults are smokers Health experts say tobacco use is the leading preventable cause
of death in the country Researchers believe that four hundred thirty-eight thousand Americans will die this year of diseases linked to smoking
VOICE TWO:
The dangers of smoking are well known Heart disease and stroke are just two of the risks Tobacco smoke is the leading cause of lung disease The American Cancer Society says smoking is responsible for almost nine out of ten cases of lung cancer in the United States Smoking is also a major cause of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, kidney, bladder and pancreas
Scientists have identified more than sixty chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer in humans and animals
Cigarettes are not the only danger Smokeless tobacco and cigars also have been linked to cancer
Chinese students break cigarettes during an
anti-smoking campaign Monday at a school
in Jinan China's government said Monday
that it will ban smoking on public
transportation and in all indoor workplaces
as part of plans for a tobacco-free 2008
Beijing Olympics China has 350 million
smokers.
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Smoking harms not only the smoker Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with health problems and low birth weight Low birth-weight babies have an increased risk of early death They may also suffer from a number of health disorders
Family members at home and people at work who breathe tobacco smoke can also get sick This is the danger of what is known as secondhand smoke
Each year, secondhand smoke causes an estimated three thousand non-smoking adults in the United States to die of lung cancer At the same time, researchers say, it also causes lung infections in as many as three hundred thousand young children
The American Cancer Society says there is no safe way to smoke It says smoking begins to cause damage immediately All cigarettes can damage the body Smoking even a small number of
cigarettes is dangerous
VOICE TWO:
On May thirty-first of each year, the World Health Organization holds World No Tobacco Day This event seeks to increase understanding about the public health effects of tobacco Another purpose of World No Tobacco Day is to reduce individual dependence on tobacco
Last year, a smoking-related treaty became part of international law The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into force on February twenty-eighth, two thousand five Any country that approves the treaty is required to obey its rules The treaty deals with things such as price and tax increases on cigarettes, marketing restrictions, secondhand smoke and illegal trade in tobacco
products
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VOICE ONE:
Nicotine is a substance in tobacco that gives pleasure to smokers Nicotine is a poison The American Cancer Society says nicotine can kill a person when taken in large amounts It does this by stopping the muscles used for breathing
The body grows to depend on nicotine When a former smoker smokes a cigarette, the nicotine reaction may start again This forces the person to keep smoking
Studies have found that nicotine can be as difficult to resist as alcohol or the illegal drug cocaine So experts say it is better never to start smoking than it is to smoke with the idea of stopping later
VOICE TWO:
Most people who smoke have heard about the harmful effects of cigarettes Some of them decide to smoke fewer cigarettes Most who try, however, find it difficult
Experts say menthol cigarettes are no safer than other tobacco products Menthol cigarettes produce a cool feeling in the smoker’s throat So people can hold the smoke inside their lungs longer than
Trang 3smokers of other products As a result, experts say menthol cigarettes may be even more dangerous than other cigarettes
VOICE ONE:
Other smokers believe that cigarettes with low tar levels are safer Tar is a substance produced when tobacco leaves are burned It is known to cause cancer
In two thousand one, the National Cancer Institute released a report about low tar cigarettes It found that people who smoke these cigarettes do not reduce their risk of getting diseases linked to smoking Scientists found no evidence of improvements to public health from changes in cigarette design and production in the past fifty years
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VOICE TWO:
It is not easy to stop smoking permanently But, if you are a smoker, doctors say you will probably live longer if you do stop Smokers who stop feel better and look better
You will not only help yourself You will also protect the health of other people around you
The American Cancer Society says the sooner people stop, the more they can reduce their chances of getting cancer and other diseases
It says blood pressure returns to normal twenty minutes after smoking the last cigarette Carbon monoxide gas levels in the blood return to normal after eight hours The chance of heart attack decreases after one day After one year, the risk of heart disease for a non-smoker is half that of a smoker
VOICE ONE:
There are products designed to help people reduce their dependence on cigarettes
There are several kinds of nicotine replacement products that provide small amounts of the chemical These can help people stop smoking
Experts also say a drug used to treat depression has proven effective for many smokers The drug is called Zyban It does not contain nicotine It works by increasing levels of dopamine in the brain Dopamine is a chemical that produces feelings of pleasure
There is evidence that people who have suffered from depression are much more likely than other people to smoke The same is true for people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders It also is much harder for them to stop smoking than it is for other people
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VOICE TWO:
Trang 4The American Cancer Society says there is no single "right way" to stop smoking It says one method
or a combination of methods may be successful These include attending self-help programs or following directions in a book The group says any way to stop smoking that is legal, moral and effective is worth a try
To stop smoking, you should carefully plan your actions for at least one week Stay away from public places where people are smoking And try to stay away from people and situations that might trouble you
Alcohol can weaken a person's will to stop smoking So people who drink may find it easier to give
up cigarettes if they stay away from alcohol temporarily
VOICE ONE:
Many experts say the best thing for a smoker is to stop completely Even one cigarette can make you
a smoker again In the first week or two without cigarettes, you will probably feel terrible You may
be angry all the time or you may feel sad You may have a headache or your stomach might feel sick
Do not lose hope If you stay away from tobacco, those feelings will go away in a few weeks Tell yourself that you will be happier as a non-smoker Tell yourself that nicotine should not control your life
VOICE TWO:
Move around as much as possible Go for a quick walk or a run at least two times a day Walking or running will make you breathe deeply This will help clear the nicotine from your body Also, when you have the urge to smoke, you could chew gum or eat a piece of fruit instead
For a long time, you can expect to continue to have periods when you really want a cigarette But these times will come less and less often One day, you will recognize that you have won the struggle against smoking
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VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by George Grow Cynthia Kirk was our producer I’m Bob Doughty
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Pat Bodnar Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com To send us e-mail, write to special@voanews.com And join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America