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4. Smoking: a deadly habit
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in huge income for manufacturers. Tobacco is a major export crop – the eighth largest in
the world in terms of agricultural exports. However, most developing countries spend
far more on importing tobacco products than is earned in exporting the raw leaves. In
some industrialised countries pressure from health groups has resulted in banning all
cigarette advertisements and the sale of cigarettes with high tar and nicotine content.
Sadly, this often means that much more pressure for advertisements and sales of higher
risk cigarettes is put on other countries, where governments may welcome the extra
bonuses promised by tobacco companies, ignoring the long-term effects on their na-
tions’ health. Cigarette sales in developing countries are now growing three times faster
than in other countries.
4. _________________________
The advertisements fail to show people dying with lung cancer in hospital beds. They fail
to tell you about the damage to children’s health, as well as to the smoker’s health. They
fail to say how unattractive the smell of stale cigarette smoke is for hair and clothes.
They fail to mention that smoking leaves athletes short of breath (even though many
sporting events are sponsored by tobacco companies). The good news is that stopping
smoking at any age, improves life expectancy. How many people do you know who
smoke? Are you and your friends aware of the dangers to health in later life? Do what
you can to pass on the message…
Activities:
1. Write a short summary of the excerpt (about 250 words)
2. Read the text again and decide which of the titles below best suits each sec-
tion.
Text 1:
a) Eight years off your life
b) Consider your options!
Text 2:
a) Lung cancer in nonsmokers
b) Passive smoking
Text 3:
a) Targets for the future include: banning all cigarette adver-
tisements
b) Nicotine addicts
Text 4:
a) What the ads don’t say
b) The smell of stale cigarette smoke
3.
Use the following words to complete the sentences.
damaged cancer pneumonia dirt energy
cough cigarette blood lungs poisons
1) Cigarettes contain tar and nicotine which are ____________.
2) Nicotine makes your heart beat faster, so just after smoking a cigarette
you have extra _____________.