第1845期:Sweden Close to Becoming 'Smoke Free' Country

Sweden is getting close to becoming the first “smoke-free” country in the European Union (EU). The country of 10.5 million people has had the lowest percentage of smokers in the EU for many years. A country is “smoke-free” if less than five percent of the population smokes daily. Only 6.4 percent of Swedes over the age of 15 were daily smokers in 2019. That was the lowest percentage in the EU. The Eurostat statistics agency says that across the 27 countries of the EU, the average was 18.5 percent. Data from the Public Health Agency of Sweden show that the smoking rate has continued to fall, reaching 5.6 percent last year.瑞典即将成为欧盟 (EU) 中第一个“无烟”国家。这个拥有 1050 万人口的国家多年来一直是欧盟吸烟者比例最低的国家。如果每天吸烟的人口少于 5%，那么这个国家就是“无烟”国家。 2019 年，只有 6.4% 的 15 岁以上瑞典人每天吸烟。这是欧盟中最低的百分比。欧盟统计局表示，在欧盟 27 个国家中，平均比例为 18.5%。瑞典公共卫生署的数据显示，吸烟率持续下降，去年达到5.6%。“We like a healthy way to live, I think that’s the reason,” said Carina Astorsson, who lives in Stockholm. Smoking never interested her, she added, because “I don’t like the smell; I want to take care of my body.” Sweden says its anti-smoking actions improve health in several ways, including a lower rate of lung cancer. Ulrika Arehed is secretary-general of the Swedish Cancer Society. She said Sweden was early to limit smoking in public places such as school playgrounds. Later, the country added smoking bans for outdoor restaurants and bus stations. The country also increased taxes on cigarettes and changed rules on how they can be sold.“我们喜欢健康的生活方式，我认为这就是原因，”住在斯德哥尔摩的 Carina Astorsson 说。她补充说，她从来没有对吸烟感兴趣，因为“我不喜欢它的味道；我要照顾好自己的身体。”瑞典表示，其禁烟行动以多种方式改善健康状况，包括降低肺癌发病率。 Ulrika Arehed 是瑞典癌症协会的秘书长。她说，瑞典很早就开始限制在学校操场等公共场所吸烟。后来，国家在户外餐厅和汽车站增加了禁烟令。该国还提高了香烟税并改变了香烟销售方式的规定。However, other forms of tobacco remain popular in Sweden. Snus is a wet tobacco powder placed in the mouth next to the teeth. Snus makers say their products help reduce cigarette smoking. But health officials say snus is another product that makes people addicted to nicotine, the main drug in tobacco. “It is true that smoking is more harmful than most things you can do, including snus. But…there are many health risks even with snus,” said Arehed.然而，其他形式的烟草在瑞典仍然很受欢迎。鼻烟是一种湿的烟草粉末，放在嘴里靠近牙齿的地方。鼻烟制造商说他们的产品有助于减少吸烟。但卫生官员表示，鼻烟是另一种让人对尼古丁上瘾的产品，尼古丁是烟草中的主要药物。 “的确，吸烟比你能做的大多数事情更有害，包括口含烟。但是……即使使用口含烟也存在许多健康风险，”Arehed 说。Snus is such a popular part of Swedish culture that the country demanded an exemption to the EU’s ban on smokeless tobacco when it joined the EU in 1995. Patrik Hildingsson is a spokesman for Swedish Match, Sweden’s top snus maker. He said officials should urge the tobacco industry to develop less harmful choices to smoking such as snus and e-cigarettes. If snus and similar products are included, the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that more than 20 percent of adults in Sweden use tobacco. This brings Sweden close to the world average.鼻烟在瑞典文化中如此受欢迎，以至于该国在 1995 年加入欧盟时要求豁免欧盟对无烟烟草的禁令。帕特里克希尔丁森是瑞典顶级鼻烟制造商瑞典火柴的发言人。他说，官员们应该敦促烟草业开发对吸烟危害较小的选择，例如口含烟和电子烟。如果包括口含烟和类似产品，世界卫生组织 (WHO) 指出，瑞典 20% 以上的成年人使用烟草。这使瑞典接近世界平均水平。“Switching from one harmful product to another is not a solution,” the WHO said in an email to The Associated Press. Tove Marina Sohlberg is a researcher at Stockholm University’s Department of Public Health Sciences. She said Sweden’s anti-smoking rules have pushed smokers away from public spaces. “We are sending signals to the smokers that this is not accepted by society,” she said. The WHO marked “World No Tobacco Day” on Wednesday.“从一种有害产品转向另一种产品并不是解决方案，”世卫组织在给美联社的电子邮件中说。 Tove Marina Sohlberg 是斯德哥尔摩大学公共卫生科学系的研究员。她说，瑞典的禁烟规定让吸烟者远离公共场所。 “我们正在向吸烟者发出信号，表明社会不接受这种做法，”她说。世界卫生组织于周三纪念“世界无烟日”。

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