[00:00.000]From VOA Learning English,
[00:01.260]this is the Health Report.
[00:04.150]A new report from the United States surgeon general
[00:08.880]finds that smoking tobacco
[00:11.360]is even deadlier than had been known.
[00:14.350]The report says smoking causes birth defects
[00:19.520]- a leading cause of death among babies.
[00:23.010]It also links smoking to cancer of the liver
[00:26.990]and colon, diabetes and other diseases.
[00:31.570]The first U.S. surgeon general's report on tobacco
[00:36.110]and health was released in 1964.
[00:39.790]It was the first scientific report to link smoking
[00:44.720]with lung cancer and heart disease.
[00:48.160]Now, 50 years later, Acting Surgeon General
[00:53.500]Boris Lushniak has released a new report.
[00:56.790]His report provides more evidence
[00:59.920]about smoking tobacco and how it can harm health.
[01:04.650]"If we're going to work together
[01:06.150]to achieve a society free of tobacco-related disease,
[01:09.330]this must be understood," said Lushniak.
[01:11.620]The new report urges increased use of tobacco-control measures.
[01:16.940]The suggested controls include raising prices of cigarettes,
[01:23.760]and expanding bans on smoking in enclosed spaces.
[01:29.090]The 2014 report calls for research on weather
[01:34.810]lowing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes
[01:39.080]could help people stop smoking.
[01:42.260]It also contains new findings.
[01:45.950]"Today we know that smoking is a cause of diabetes,
[01:48.790]rheumatoid arthritis and poor response to treatment of arthritis,
[01:52.630]erectile dysfunction, and increased risk of tuberculosis,
[01:56.410]disease and death.
[01:58.760]We're adding colon, rectal and liver cancer
[02:01.690]to the long list of cancers caused by smoking," said Lushniak.
[02:04.380]Doctor Lushniak also said smoking suppresses
[02:08.910]the body's natural defenses for fighting disease.
[02:13.610]He said this increases a smoker's likelihood of
[02:19.330]getting an infectious disease.
[02:21.520]"One of the most disturbing findings
[02:23.380]is that the disease risks from smoking by women
[02:25.620]have risen sharply over the last fifty years.
[02:28.710]Women are now as likely to die from smoking as men,
[02:32.210]women smokers' risk of lung cancer is now the same as men,
[02:35.890]and more women die from chronic lung disease than men," said Lushniak.
[02:39.820]The new report finds that those who do not smoke
[02:43.810]are at a higher risk for stroke if left unprotected from tobacco smoke.
[02:50.630]The latest research also shows damage to unborn children.
[02:56.330]Babies are more likely to be born with cleft palate if the mother smokes.
[03:03.690]The chemicals in tobacco smoke can have lasting effects
[03:09.960]on brain development in a fetus.
[03:13.050]The surgeon general would like to see more action
[03:18.030]to keep young people from developing a smoking habit.
[03:22.890]He supports higher prices on cigarettes,
[03:26.970]more anti-smoking media campaigns
[03:30.900]and more help for people who want to quit smoking.
[03:35.880]And that's the Health Report from VOA Learning English.