Lesson 2
Fight Against Youth Smoking

Three years ago, appalled by how many children were becoming addicted to cigarettes every year, the Vice President and I committed this administration to stopping the sale and marketing of cigarettes to children. Today, thanks to these efforts and the persistence of state attorneys general, the public health community, and leaders in Congress, we have the best opportunity ever to pass comprehensive anti-smoking legislation that will save millions of our children from a premature, painful, and very preventable death.

This week, in a historic and resounding 19 to 1 vote, a key Senate committee gave its stamp of approval to comprehensive legislation sponsored by Senator John McCain, a Republican, and Senator Fritz Hollings, a Democrat, that would cut youth smoking by half over the next decade. This bill represents a dramatic step forward. It would raise the price of cigarettes, give the FDA full authority to regulate tobacco products, ban advertising aimed at children, and protect tobacco farmers.

We still have work to do on this legislation. Above all, we need to put in place tough penalties that will cost the tobacco industry if it continues to sell cigarettes to young people. Just this week the Centers for Disease Control released a disturbing report that more than a third of teenagers in the United States now smoke, even though it’s illegal.

It is time to hold tobacco companies accountable. Reducing youth smoking must be everybody’s bottom line. Let’s remember — this is not about politics or money, or seeking revenge against the tobacco industry for past practices. We’re not trying to put the tobacco companies out of business; we want to put them out of the business of selling cigarettes to kids. This week’s progress in the Senate shows we have real momentum in both parties to do just that.

There’re still many issues to be worked out and many long nights ahead. But we have within our grasp one of the most important public health victories our nation has ever achieved.

Finally, let me just pause a moment to observe the 30th anniversary of the death of one of America’s greatest heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King. His dream, deeply rooted in the American Dream, is a dream for all Americans. Let us here at home always strive to heed Dr. King’s words and live up to his legacy.

—Bill Clinton

名人名言

Today, I want to talk to you about the historic opportunity we now have to protect our nation’s children from an even more deadly threat: smoking. Smoking kills more people every day than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs and fires combined. Nearly 90 percent of those smokers lit their first cigarette before they turned 18.

Today, the epidemic of teen smoking is raging throughout our nation as, one by one, our children are lured by multimillion dollar marketing schemes designed to do exactly that. Consider this: 3,000 children start to smoke every day illegally, and 1,000 of them will die sooner because of it.

—Bill Clinton

反对青少年吸烟

三年以前，我和副总统为每年有如此众多的儿童染上烟瘾而震惊（appalled），我们决定让这届政府致力于禁止向儿童出售和营销香烟。今天，凭借我们的决心以及各州总检察长、公共医疗机构和国会领导人的不懈努力（persistence），我们已迎来了有史以来通过一项全面的反吸烟法案的最好时机。这一法案(legislation)可使数百万儿童避免痛苦地夭折，这样的死亡本来是完全可以避免的。

这个星期，参议院一个重要的委员会以历史性的响亮的19票对1票通过了一项由共和党参议员约翰·麦肯和民主党参议员弗立特·霍林斯提出的全面议案。该议案的通过将可能在未来十年内使年轻人吸烟人数减少一半。该议案代表着一个巨大的进步，它将提高香烟价格，授予食品与药物局全权管理烟草产品，禁止面向青少年做烟草广告，并且保护种植烟草的农场主。

关于这个议案，我们仍有工作要做。首先，我们必须制订严厉的惩罚措施，如果烟草行业继续向年轻人出售香烟就要让他们付出代价。在这个星期，疾病控制中心发布的令人不安的报告说，三分之一以上的美国青少年已是吸烟者，尽管他们吸烟是违法的。

现在是需要烟草公司承担责任（accountable）的时候了。减少青少年吸烟量必须成为所有人最终的目标。我们要记住——这与政治或金钱无关，也不是为了报复（revenge）烟草行业过去的行为，我们并不试图让烟草公司关门。我们是要他们不再向孩子们出售香烟。这个星期参议院取得的进步表明在两党中都有完成这项任务的势头(momentum)。

还有许多问题需要解决，许多长夜在等着我们。不过，我们已经有望取得我国有史以来在公共健康方面最重要的胜利。

最后，让我暂停一下，以悼念美国最伟大的英雄，马丁·路德·金博士逝世30周年。他的梦想，深深地植根于美国梦想之中，是全体美国人共同的梦想。让我们的美国人民永远铭记金博士的话，努力（strive）实现他的遗志(legacy)。

——比尔·克林顿

名人名言

今天，我想和诸位谈谈我们目前拥有的保护我们的子女免受一种更致命的威胁——吸烟——的历史性机遇。吸烟每天导致死亡的人数比艾滋病、酗酒、车祸、谋杀、自杀、吸毒及火灾加在一起导致的死亡人数还要多。这些吸烟者中90%是在18岁之前开始吸第一根烟的。

今天，随着我们的孩子一个一个被吸引青少年吸烟的耗资数百万美元的营销手段所诱惑（lured），青少年吸烟的流行病（epidemic）正在全国蔓延。请考虑以下事实：每天有3，000名儿童开始违法吸烟，由于吸烟，他们中间有1，000人将为此短命。

——比尔·克林顿