美國之音2007標(biāo)準(zhǔn)下半年AEngland Bans Smoking in Closed Public Places

England Bans Smoking in Closed Public Places

By Delana Gbenekama
London
09 July 2007

Smokers. They used to be easy to spot -- in pubs, restaurants, offices. But that is changing.

A new smoking ban against lighting up in enclosed public spaces went into effect July 1st. It is part of the government's efforts to reduce smoke-related illnesses and death. Liam Donaldson of the Health Department says the ban will save thousands of lives.

"We have already introduced a wide range of measures to control tobacco-related disease, including restricting advertising and promotion of tobacco,”“But secondhand smoke, exposing people who don't smoke to the cancer-causing effects and adverse effects of cigarette smoke is something that we wanted to stop."

Businesses can no longer have smoking rooms. And they must display "no smoking" signs and maintain smoke-free work vehicles. Those who fail to meet these requirements face fines of more than $5,000. For non-smokers here in London, the ban brings sighs of relief.

"I don't smoke, but I work in a pub,”“So, oftentimes you go home smelling of smoke. Yes, from my point of view, it's going to be good that I won't go home smelling of smoke so much."

Others see the ban as an opportunity to quit smoking. "I have been smoking for nearly about 10 to 12 years now,”. “For me it's a positive ban which in a way is a blessing in disguise because I have been trying with nicotine patches and chewing gums."

But the smokers' advocate group FOREST -- short for Freedom Organization for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco -- vows to fight the ban. Spokesman Simon Clark. "The idea that the rights of smokers and the rights of non-smokers are mutually exclusive is absolute nonsense,”“With modern, up-to-date ventilation systems, you can accommodate smokers and non-smokers quite happily."

The Health Department predicts that about 600,000 people will kick the habit as a result of the ban. But it is not expected to have a long-term impact on the $24 billion U.K. tobacco industry.

Chris Ogden of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association says, "There will be an initial dip in sales,”. “For example, in Scotland when the ban came in about a year ago, initially there was about a four percent drop, although that's recovered. And we expect the same sort of thing to happen here."

Opponents of smoking say they will now be able to enjoy a smoke-free environment. But for smokers, it means either quit or move outdoors to light up.

英國禁止在室內(nèi)公共場所吸煙

吸煙者。他們常常容易出現(xiàn)在——酒館，飯店，辦公室。但是現(xiàn)在不同了。

一項新的關(guān)于在室內(nèi)公共場所吸煙的禁煙法令在7月1號生效。這是政府在減少由于吸煙而導(dǎo)致生病和死亡方面所作出的部分努力。健康部門的Liam Donaldson表示這項法令將挽救上千條生命。

我們已經(jīng)采取很大措施來控制與煙草相關(guān)的疾病，包括限制煙草廣告和促銷。但是間接獲得的煙揭露了人們對吸煙導(dǎo)致癌癥發(fā)生的忽視和對我們想停止吸煙帶來的壞影響的不關(guān)心。

營業(yè)區(qū)將不再設(shè)立吸煙室。他們必須出示“禁止吸煙”指示牌并保持無煙工作傳達手段。違反禁煙法的那些單位課以多余5000美元的罰金。倫敦不吸煙的那些人對禁煙令表示減輕痛苦的嘆息。

我不吸煙，但是我在酒吧工作，所以有時候回到家抽煙。當(dāng)然，我認(rèn)為，最好回到家也不多抽煙。

其他人把禁煙令視作戒煙的機會。“我已經(jīng)抽煙大概十到十二年了，對我來說這是一項值得肯定的法令，它在某種程度上使我受益，因為我嘗試著使用尼古丁貼片和咀嚼口香糖。

但是提倡吸煙組織，森林，爭取享受吸煙權(quán)利自由組織的英文名稱縮寫，宣誓反對這一禁令。其負責(zé)人克拉克表示：“吸煙者和非吸煙者的權(quán)利是互斥的說法是絕對胡言的。”通過現(xiàn)代的、新型的通風(fēng)系統(tǒng)，你可以使吸煙者和非吸煙者都得到滿足。

健康部門預(yù)測大概60萬人由于這條法令而戒掉煙癮。但是并不期望對英國資產(chǎn)240億美元的煙草公司帶來長期影響。

煙草制造協(xié)會的Chris Ogden表示，“銷量開始輕微下降。”“例如，在蘇格蘭這項法令是一年以前實施的，一開始銷量滑落4%，盡管后來有些恢復(fù)。我們期望英格蘭也會這樣。”

反對吸煙的人表示他們現(xiàn)在可以享受一個無煙的環(huán)境。但是對吸煙者來說，這就意味著將要戒煙或到戶外吸煙。