纽约市市长比尔·德布拉西奥（Bill de Blasio）希望提高香烟税，以劝导人们戒烟。
He would raise the current $10.50 minimum price for a pack of cigarettes to $13 in New York City.
他会把纽约市单包香烟的最低售价从目前的10.5美元提高到了13美元。
De Blasio said the goal of making New York the most expensive city in America to buy cigarettes is to reduce tobacco use. If people have to pay more, he said, they might decide to stop smoking, or, even better, never start.
德布拉西奥表示，让纽约成为全美购买香烟最贵城市的目的是减少吸烟。他说，如果人们需要支付更高价格，他们可能会决定戒烟，或是就不要开始吸烟。
Anti-smoking proposal
禁烟提案
The mayor is pushing a number of bills. In addition to raising taxes on cigarettes, his bills would limit the number of places selling tobacco products in New York.
这位市长正在推动一些议案。除了提高香烟税，他的议案还将限制纽约销售烟草制品的渠道数量。
Under one proposal, the city would bar drug stores, also known as pharmacies, from selling cigarettes.
根据一项提案，该市将会禁止药店出售香烟。
Dr. Mary Bassett is New York City's commissioner of health.
玛丽·巴塞特（Mary Bassett）博士是纽约市的卫生专员。
She said, "As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. These bills will make it less likely that New Yorkers will start smoking and easier for New Yorkers who smoke to quit."
她说，“作为一位前烟民，我知道戒烟有多难。这些议案会让纽约人降低开始吸烟的可能性，并且让纽约烟民戒烟更容易。”
New York is America's largest city, with over 8.5 million residents. The city's Health Department says the percentage of New Yorkers who smoke has dropped from 21.5 percent in 2002 to 14.3 percent in 2005.
纽约是美国最大的城市，拥有超过850万人口。该市的卫生部门表示，纽约烟民比例已经从2002年21.5%下降到2005年的14.3%。
But that still leaves 900,000 smokers in the city. An estimated 15,000 of the city's smokers are under age 18.
但是该市仍然有90万烟民。据估计该市有1.5万烟民的年龄不到18岁。
The idea behind the mayor's proposal is that people will stop smoking if the cost is too high.
这位市长提出的议案背后的想法是，如果成本太高人们就会戒烟。
Opponents said many people will continue to smoke and that some will be pushed more into poverty or find places to get illegal cigarettes free of taxes.
反对者表示，很多人会继续吸烟，有些人将会更加贫困或是寻找购买未缴税的非法香烟的渠道。
"Over time, it's proven again and again that these efforts are ultimately ineffective as people, minors included, turn more and more to the bootleggers," said Audrey Silk. She is founder of NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment.
纽约市反吸烟骚扰公民游说组织的创始人奥黛丽·西尔克（Audrey Silk）表示，“久而久之会一再证明，这些措施最终都是无效的，因为包括未成年人在内的人们会越来越多地转向香烟走私分子。”
But de Blasio said government has a moral responsibility to discourage people from smoking. He said that higher prices have been shown to stop people from smoking.
但是德布拉西奥表示，政府有劝阻人们吸烟的道德责任。他说，提高价格已证实能阻止人们吸烟。
"When it comes to New Yorker's health, big tobacco is pubic enemy #1," de Blasio said.
德布拉西奥说：“对纽约人的健康来说，烟草巨头是头号公敌。”
Smoking around the world
世界各地的吸烟情况
The World Health Organization says there is no doubt that smoking cigarettes is harmful.
世界卫生组织表示，吸烟有害，这毋庸置疑。
"Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers," the WHO said in a report. It says smoking is responsible for about 6 million deaths a year across the world.
世卫组织在一份报告中表示，“香烟是唯一一种完全按照制造者意图使用却会杀死很多吸食者的合法药物。”该组织表示，吸烟每年造成世界各地大约6百万人死亡。
Globally, the WHO says there are 1.1 billion tobacco smokers aged 15 or older. About 226 million smokers live in poverty, it said.
世卫组织表示，全球有11亿年龄在15岁以上的烟民，大约2.26亿烟民生活在贫困当中。
Smoking rates and taxes differ across the world.
世界各地的吸烟率和税率各不相同。
The countries with the highest percentage of smokers are Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia and Slovenia, the Tobacco Atlas reports.
《烟草版图》报告称，烟民比例最高的国家是塞尔维亚、保加利亚、希腊、俄罗斯和斯洛维尼亚。
But the countries with most cigarettes smoked are China, Russia, the United States, Indonesia and Japan, the Tobacco Atlas said.
但是烟民数量最多的国家是中国、俄罗斯、美国、印尼和日本。
The Chinese smoke more cigarettes than all other low- and middle-income countries combined, the Tobacco Atlas says.
中国人吸食的香烟数量比所有其它中低收入国家加到一块都要多。
The atlas is put out by officials from the American Cancer Association and World Lung Foundation.
《烟草版图》是由美国癌症协会和世界肺癌基金会官员共同发布的。
Numbeo.com is a website that tracks the cost of living around the world. The site reports that the most expensive countries to buy cigarettes are: Australia, $18.77 per pack; followed by New Zealand, $16.19; Bermuda, $12.24; Norway, $12.23; and Iceland, $11.81.
Numbeo.com是一家跟踪世界各地生活成本的网站。该网站报告说，购买香烟最贵的国家是澳大利亚，每包18.77美元，其次是新西兰，16.19美元；百慕大，12.24美元；挪威，12.23美元以及，冰岛，11.81美元。
In 2016, voters in two American states -- California and Colorado -- voted on separate proposals to raises taxes on cigarettes. Voters in California approved a $2 tax increase per pack of cigarettes. But voters in Colorado rejected a $1.75 tax increase.
2016年，美国加州和科罗拉多州选民就一项提高香烟税的单独议案进行了投票。加州选民批准每包香烟加税2美元，但是科罗拉多州选民否决了每包香烟加税1.75美元。
The New York City Council will now decide whether to approve or reject the anti-smoking measures offered by Mayor de Blasio.
纽约市议会将决定批准或否决德布拉西奥市长提出的这些禁烟措施。
I'm Bruce Alpert.
我是布鲁斯·阿尔珀特。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)