煙草在線據無煙兒童運動報道編譯　　烏拉圭制定了一些世界上最強硬的反對煙草使用的法律。發表在醫學雜志《柳葉刀》上的一項新研究顯示，烏拉圭致力于控煙的努力，大大降低了該國的吸煙率。

　　自2005年以來，烏拉圭執行了一系列減少煙草使用的強硬措施。這些措施包括實施要求實行無煙工作場所和公共場所的綜合法律、禁止煙草廣告、促銷和贊助（除了在銷售點），以及進行幾次煙草提稅。

　　2010年，烏拉圭采用了世界上最大的圖片健康警告標識，這個標識覆蓋卷煙煙盒正反面80%的面積。為防止煙草公司利用包裝和標識不真實地將卷煙作為減害產品營銷，烏拉圭還禁止“淡味”和“低焦油”等欺騙性的卷煙標簽，從而成為第一個限制每個卷煙品牌用一個包裝設計的國家。

　　為評估這些措施的影響，在《柳葉刀》雜志上發表的研究對烏拉圭的煙草使用發展趨勢，與當時尚未執行這種廣泛的控煙措施的鄰國阿根廷的煙草使用發展趨勢進行了對比。結果發現，烏拉圭的進步要大得多。

　　從2005年到2011年，烏拉圭人均卷煙消費下降了4.3%，而阿根廷每年的人均卷煙消費則增長了0.6%。

　　從2005年到2011年，烏拉圭的成年人吸煙率每年下降3.3%，相比之下，阿根廷的成年人吸煙率每年下降1.7%。

　　從2003年到2009年，烏拉圭13歲、15歲和17歲的學生中煙草使用率每年降低8%，而相比之下，從2001年到2009年，阿根廷的學生的煙草使用率每年下降2.5%。

　　這項研究得出結論：“烏拉圭的綜合煙草控制行動與煙草使用出現史無前例的重大減少是有關聯的。與烏拉圭煙草使用出現重大減少一樣，其他中低收入國家煙草使用的減少，將對與煙草有關疾病未來給全球帶來的負擔產生重大影響?！?/p>

　　鑒于烏拉圭取得的成功，菲莫國際公司就烏拉圭的警告標簽和包裝限制提出訴訟也不足為奇。菲莫國際公司正試圖威嚇烏拉圭做出讓步，從而阻止其他國家效仿烏拉圭的做法。其他國家支持烏拉圭保護國民健康的權利，開始頒行強硬措施，以減少煙草使用，這十分重要。

　　烏拉圭指出了對抗煙草流行病的道路，吸煙的流行本世紀或許會在全球奪走10億人的生命。

Study: Uruguay's Strong Policies Produced Unprecedented Smoking Declines

　　Uruguay has some of the world's strongest laws to fight tobacco use, and a new study published in The Lancet medical journal shows the natio's efforts have dramatically reduced smoking.

　　Since 2005, Uruguay has implemented a series of strong measures to reduce tobacco use. These include a comprehensive law requiring smoke-free workplaces and public places, a ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships (except at the point of sale), and several tobacco tax increases.

　　In 2010, Uruguay implemented the world's largest graphic warning labels, which cover 80 percent of the front and back of cigarette packs. To prevent tobacco companies from using packaging and labeling to falsely market some cigarettes as less harmful, Uruguay also banned deceptive cigarette labels such as "light" and "low-tar" and became the first country to limit each cigarette brand to one pack design.

　　To assess the impact of these measures, the Lancet study compared trends in tobacco use in Uruguay to those in neighboring Argentina, which at the time had not implemented such extensive tobacco control measures.　It found far greater progress in Uruguay:

　　·From 2005 to 2011, per-person consumption of cigarettes decreased by 4.3 percent per year in Uruguay, while increasing by 0.6 percent per year in Argentina.

　　·From 2005 to 2011, the adult smoking rate in Uruguay fell by 3.3 percent a year, compared to a 1.7 percent annual decrease in Argentina.

　　·From 2003 to 2009, rates of tobacco use among Uruguayan students aged 13, 15 and 17 decreased by 8 percent a year, compared to a decrease of 2.5 percent annually among Argentinean students from 2001 to 2009.

　　The study's conclusion: "Uruguay's comprehensive tobacco-control campaign has been associated with a substantial, unprecedented decrease in tobacco use.　Decreases in tobacco use in other low-income and middle-income countries of the magnitude seen in Uruguay would have a substantial effect on the future global burden of tobacco-related diseases."

　　Given Uruguay's success, it isn't surprising that Philip Morris International (PMI) has filed a legal challenge to the country's warning labels and packaging restrictions. The tobacco giant is seeking to bully Uruguay into backing down and discourage other countries from following its lead. It's critical that other countries support Uruguay's right to protect the health of its citizens and join in enacting strong measures to reduce tobacco use.

　　Uruguay is pointing the way to combating a tobacco epidemic that will otherwise kill one billion people worldwide this century. Enditem