社評雙語道：加煙稅減煙民

放大圖片

■政府計劃增加煙稅，每包煙或售93元。 資料圖片

吸煙與健康委員會建議政府下年度大幅增加1倍煙稅，每包煙賣93元。香港確有必要大幅度增加煙稅，並大力打擊走私煙，促使更多煙民戒煙及預防青少年吸煙，以保障市民健康。

大幅增加煙稅對預防吸煙及鼓勵戒煙成效明顯，但煙草業界及其盟友往往以助長走私煙活動為借口大力反對。煙草業界的策略是高調宣傳加煙稅會助長私煙活動，藉以降低政府煙稅政策的力度。但是，增加煙稅及加強走私刑罰，才是徹底解決走私煙的有效方法，不加煙稅並不會減少走私煙。

Increased tobacco tax to make smokers quit

The Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) suggests that the government double tobacco tax in the coming fiscal year and bring the retail price of a pack of cigarettes up to HK$93. Indeed, there is a need for Hong Kong to substantially raise the tax and vigorously combat the trade of illicit cigarettes. It will get more smokers to quit and prevent youngsters from taking up the habit, thereby protecting public health.

An extensive rise in the tax can effectively deter people from smoking and encourage addicts to quit. Yet the tobacco industry and their allies often strongly oppose the initiative on the pretext that it would fuel cigarette smuggling. Hoping to make the government scale down the policy, their tactic is to propagate in high-sounding language that a tax rise would increase illegal trade of contraband cigarettes. But the fact remains that a higher tax and levy on smuggling are the most effective ways to root out illegal trade of tobacco; leaving the tax unchanged will not curb it.

Learning Point:

中文社評中提及政府應對吸煙問題的各種行動，包括打擊、預防、降低、解決、減少。可留意譯文中用到的不同英文字眼。

Combat 打擊、阻止壞的事件發生

Prevent/Deter somebody from doing something 預防/阻止某人做某些事

Scale down 降低、縮減

Root out 解決、根除一些問題

Curb 減少、抑制

■Translation and Learning Point by Tung-ming

[ tungming23@gmail.com ]

Practice

根據括號內的意思，運用上面的字詞，完成下列的句子:

1. Heavier tobacco tax can effectively _________.（阻止年輕人吸煙）

2. Many countries are trying their best to ___________.（打擊恐怖主義）

3. It is nearly impossible to _______________.（解決失業）

4. Severe punishment can ________________.（防止人犯案）

5. The department wants to _______________.（降低污染程度）

6. The government is taking measures to_________.（控制溫室氣體排放）

Answers

1. prevent/ deter young people from smoking

2. combat terrorism

3. root out unemployment

4. deter/ prevent people from committing crimes

5. scale down the pollution levels

6. curb greenhouse gas emissions