Secretary General’s Message on World No Tobacco Day

世界无烟日致辞

31 May 2012

2012年5月31日



This year’s World No Tobacco Day comes at a time when the tobacco industry is taking ever more aggressive steps to undermine efforts to reduce the global menace of tobacco. While governments and the international health community try to implement effective measures to contain tobacco use and protect the health of people, their efforts are being aggressively opposed by an industry whose products kill people.

在今年的世界无烟日到来之时，烟草行业正在变本加厉地破坏为减少烟草带来的全球威胁所做的各项努力。各国政府和国际卫生界致力于采取有效措施，遏制吸烟行为，保护人民健康，但他们的努力却遭到生产害人产品的烟草业的激烈反对。

Tobacco kills by causing cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases. It is one of the leading preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases. Every year, about 5 million people die because they use tobacco. Another 600,000 people die from exposure to second-hand smoke.

吸烟会导致癌症、心脏疾病和呼吸系统疾病，因而危害人的生命。它是引发非传染性疾病的可预防的主要风险因素之一。每年，大约500万人因吸烟而死亡，另有60万人死于被动吸烟。

Tobacco takes a pervasive, heavy toll. It hinders development and worsens poverty.  Tobacco and poverty create a vicious circle since it is the poor who smoke most and bear the brunt of the economic and disease burden of tobacco use. Money spent on tobacco cannot be used to pay for food, education and health care. And tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries that are least equipped to deal with its consequences.

烟草造成的危害是普遍和严重的。它阻碍发展，加剧贫穷。烟草和贫穷形成了一个恶性循环，因为吸烟最多的是穷人，他们首当其冲，受到吸烟带来的经济和疾病负担之害。将钱用在烟草上，就不能用于购买食品、教育和医疗保健。在低收入国家，烟草使用的增长速度最快，而这些国家又最没有条件应对其带来的后果。

The world has established effective tools to fight tobacco use and protect public health policies from being diluted by the tobacco industry. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control -- with 174 Parties -- became one of the most rapidly embraced treaties in United Nations history after it entered into force in 2005. In the Political Declaration adopted at the High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases last year, the international community reiterated its determination to reduce tobacco consumption and availability.

全世界已建立了有效工具，阻止吸烟行为，防止公共卫生政策被烟草业削弱。世界卫生组织《烟草控制框架公约》于2005年生效，现已有174个缔约国，使之成为联合国历史上得到最迅速接受的条约之一。在去年召开的非传染性疾病高级别会议通过的《政治宣言》中，国际社会重申，坚决努力减少烟草消费和供应。

Tobacco control is essential to achieving our global development goals. If we do not step up our efforts to control it, tobacco could kill up to one billion people this century. The interests of the tobacco industry and of public health are directly opposed. Since the Framework Convention came into force the tobacco industry has been battling against protective measures with no thought for peoples’ health. But we are making progress. Some countries have reduced smoking by up to 25 per cent within only three years from implementing strong tobacco control measures in line with the Framework Convention.

烟草管制对实现全球发展目标至关重要。如果我们不加紧努力实行管制，在本世纪烟草将导致10亿人死亡。烟草业与公共卫生之间存在着利益冲突。《框架公约》生效以来，烟草行业一直不顾人民的健康，抵制各种保护措施。但我们正在取得进展。一些国家根据《框架公约》要求，采取了强有力的烟草管制措施，在短短三年时间里，使吸烟人数减少了25%。

On this observance of World No Tobacco Day, I urge all governments and civil society to prevent the tobacco industry from derailing the implementation of the Framework Convention.  Let us resist the industry’s attacks and pursue our vision of a tobacco-free world.

在纪念世界无烟日之际，我敦促各国政府和民间社会努力阻止烟草行业破坏执行《框架公约》。让我们抵制烟草业的攻击，力争实现创建无烟世界这一远景目标。