A single cigarette sold on a street corner may not cost a lot; however, the overall costs of smoking are huge.
在街角买一包烟花不了多少钱，然而吸烟的总成本非常巨大。
First, consider the cost of human life. The World Health Organization says about 10 people die of a tobacco-linked disease every minute. That rate adds up to almost six million people dying from such diseases every year.
首先考虑下人命的代价。世界卫生组织表示，每分钟就有10人死于烟草相关的疾病，累计下来就是每年近600万人死于这类疾病。
The majority of these preventable deaths happen in low-income and middle-income countries. The World Bank says each of these countries has a gross national income of less than $12,746.
大多数这种可预防的死亡发生在中低收入国家。世界银行表示，这些国家的人均国民总收入都低于12746美元每年。
Stopping smoking
戒烟
For most people, stopping smoking is hard. Many began smoking as teenagers. They are used to it. Also, tobacco contains the powerful drug nicotine.
对大多数人来说，戒烟很难。很多人青少年时期就开始吸烟。他们已经习惯于此。此外，烟草中含有效力非常大药物尼古丁。
Studies show people who want to stop smoking can do so with different treatments. Some get help from electronic cigarettes, medicine or nicotine patches that reduce one's desire for the drug.
研究表明，希望戒烟者可以通过不同的治疗办法。有些人求助于电子香烟、药物，或者可以降低自己对尼古丁欲望的尼古丁贴剂。
Dr. Nancy Rigotti works at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. She says she finds that medicine and counseling services together work best of all.
南希·里戈蒂（Nancy Rigotti）博士就职于美国马萨诸塞州总医院。她说她认为医学服务和心理辅导双管齐下效果最好。
Other experts and former smokers offer even more effective advice: if you are considering starting smoking, don't.
还有些专家和前烟民提供更有效的建议：如果你正考虑开始吸烟，赶紧打住！
Illegal tobacco trade
非法烟草贸易
But smoking costs more than the life of an individual. It can affect the health of an entire country.
但是吸烟付出的代价不仅是个人生命。它还会影响整个国家的健康。
The World Health Organization says low-income countries depend heavily on taxes from cigarettes. They use the money, in part, to pay the costs of health care for tobacco-related diseases.
世界卫生组织表示，低收入国家严重依赖于烟草税。他们使用这些钱的一部分用于支付烟草相关疾病的治疗。
But the illegal trade in tobacco products is further testing the economies of low-income countries. WHO officials say the illegal trade earns about $31 billion every year.
但是烟草制品的非法贸易正在进一步考验低收入国家的经济。世界卫生组织官员表示，非法贸易每年收入大约在310亿美元。
Douglas Bettcher is the director of the WHO's Department for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. He calls the illegal trade a monster with many heads.
道格拉斯·贝彻（Douglas Bettcher）是世界卫生组织预防非传染疾病部门的负责人。他称非法贸易是个多头怪兽。
He says the trade enables young people to buy cigarettes at low prices, become addicted to tobacco and suffer serious health problems. It also increases crime and reduces tax revenue.
他说，非法烟草贸易使得年轻人能够以很低的价格买到香烟，对烟草上瘾并遭遇严重健康问题。它还提升了犯罪并减少了税收。
"It feeds the proliferation of transnational organized crime, another head of this multi-headed monster, and it drains resources, taxes, revenue from the purses of ministries of finance, governmental coffers."
“非法烟草贸易助长了有组织犯罪的泛滥，这是这个多头怪兽的另一头。而且它造成资源、税收和财政收入从国库中流失。”
The World Health Organization is urging United Nations member states to sign a treaty to end the illegal trade in tobacco products. Eight countries have approved the treaty. But the approval of 32 other countries is needed for it to become international law.
世界卫生组织正督促联合国成员国签署协议终止烟草产品的非法贸易。8个国家已经通过了该条约，但是还需要32个国家通过才能使其成为国际法。
If the treaty succeeds, governments could put people who trade illegal tobacco products in jail – another cost to countries' budgets.
如果该条约成功通过，各国政府就能把非法买卖烟草制品者投入监狱，而这又是国家预算的另一种损失。
I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
我是凯利吉恩·凯利。(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！)