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| Pollution in China・s Air Creates Concern About Beijing Olympic Games |
Also: A study finds that people who stop smoking often influence other smokers to quit. Transcript of radio broadcast:
24 June 2008
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VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And
I'm Steve Ember. On our program this week, we will tell how pollution
in China・s air is creating concerns about the Beijing Olympic Games. We
also will tell how people who stop smoking may help others who want to
stop. And, we tell about a United Nations report on treatment of AIDS
and the virus that causes the disease.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
 | | In Beijing, a woman crosses a street under polluted skies on June 13 |
Chinese
officials are making final preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games.
The games will officially open on August eighth. Recently, news
agencies reported about air quality problems in China's capital. Air
pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing late last month. The pollution
was so bad that the city's environmental protection agency warned
people with breathing problems to avoid outdoor activities. Officials
blamed a sandstorm for the poor air quality.
VOICE TWO:
Air
pollution can be a serious issue for people who compete in athletic
events. Some doctors have urged Olympic athletes not to train in China
because it could be harmful to their health. For example, Ethiopian
runner Haile Gebrselassie has the breathing disorder asthma. He has
chosen not to take part in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics for
health reasons.
The International Olympic Committee has said it
will cancel or postpone Olympic events, such as the marathon, if the
air quality is too dangerous for athletes.
VOICE ONE:
Some
international organizations have said the air in Beijing is among the
most polluted in the world. The air pollution has many causes,
including automobiles and burning of coal as a fuel. Chinese officials
are attempting to solve these problems by decreasing the amount of
traffic and ordering the use of natural gas instead of coal. Beijing
officials have also ordered surrounding areas to decrease their levels
of pollution.
China is also using weather satellites to help
predict weather conditions. The weather can influence air pollution
levels because of the effects of wind and rain.
VOICE TWO:
But
one weather expert says pollution might not be the biggest problem
facing the Olympic athletes. Doug Charko measures weather conditions
for the Canadian Olympic team. He studied weather conditions in Beijing
last summer to predict what Canadian athletes could expect at the
games. His study found that heat and humidity could be more of a
problem than air quality. Humidity levels measure wetness, especially
in the air.
Mister Charko also says efforts to reduce pollution
levels in China have only resulted in small changes. He noted that
Beijing has a population of eighteen million people. With so many
people, he said, it is very difficult to limit the large amounts of
pollution being released.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. With Steve Ember, I'm Faith Lapidus in Washington.
(MUSIC):
Would
you like to stop smoking? Knowing other people who are stopping may
help. A recent study shows that people who stop smoking often have an
influence on others around them, making them more likely to quit. The
study was published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine.
VOICE TWO:
Two
American researchers led the study on smoking. They are Nicholas
Christakis of Harvard University and James Fowler of the University of
California at San Diego. They examined the smoking and social customs
of twelve thousand people over a thirty-two year period. The
information used in the study was collected between nineteen
seventy-one and two thousand three. The twelve thousand individuals
were part of a larger research project known as the Framingham Heart
Study.
VOICE ONE:
The researchers found that people often
quit smoking in groups. Married people had strong effects on their
partners. Smokers who had a husband or wife who quit were sixty-seven
percent less likely to continue smoking. Those who had a friend who
quit were thirty-six percent less likely to keep smoking. And those
with a brother or sister who quit were twenty-five percent less likely
to remain a smoker. Even people who did not know each other but had
connections to the same people were affected by one another.
The
study also found that individuals with higher levels of education had
more influence on other people than those with less education.
VOICE TWO:
The
United States has an estimated forty-four million smokers. But the
number of Americans who smoke has decreased during the past thirty
years. Researchers found that smokers and non-smokers began forming
separate social groups during the period. Cigarette or tobacco use has
become less socially acceptable because of increased understanding of
the health risks linked to smoking.
The finding could help
public health campaigns to be more successful by directing information
to social groups of people instead of individuals.
VOICE ONE:
The
researchers say smokers who do not quit could find themselves with
fewer friends and social connections. Because it is becoming less
socially acceptable to smoke, people who do will feel increasing
pressure to stop smoking.
Steven Schroeder is a professor of
medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. He says the
study is good news because it shows that more smokers are giving in to
pressure from those around them to quit. But he says smokers should not
be condemned because they have trouble giving up cigarettes.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Finally,
the United Nations says almost three million people in developing
countries are receiving drugs for HIV -- the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. This is an increase of almost one million people from two years
ago. Still, the hope was to reach three million by two thousand five.
The
World Health Organization, the United Nations Children・s Fund and
UNAIDS reported the numbers earlier this month. W.H.O. Director-General
Margaret Chan welcomed the progress. But she noted that antiretroviral
therapy, or ART, alone will not solve the problem.
 | | Margaret Chan |
MARGARET
CHAN: "For every two persons we manage, to provide them with ART,
another five persons get infected. So again, we cannot underestimate
the power of prevention."
VOICE ONE:
The new U.N. report
says almost seventy-five percent of people receiving H.I.V. drugs are
in Africa. Sixty percent of those with H.I.V. in Africa are women.
Antiretroviral
therapy suppresses the virus. The drugs help patients live longer
without developing AIDS. The disease robs the body of its natural
defenses against infections.
An estimated nine million seven
hundred thousand people were in need of H.I.V. treatment last year in
areas with low and medium-wages. The report says that by the end of the
year, just over thirty percent of them were getting it.
VOICE TWO:
The
U.N. report says price reductions are a main reason why more people
with H.I.V., including more pregnant women, are receiving the drugs.
Also, supply systems have been redesigned to better serve individual
countries and smaller health centers. And treatments are simpler than
in the past.
But the report notes that huge barriers remain in
dealing with the AIDS problem. Getting patients to continue with their
treatment is difficult. There are still large numbers of people who do
not get tested for H.I.V. And, there are many others who get tested too
late and die within months.
VOICE ONE:
The U.N. report
also says there is not enough joint treatment of H.I.V. and the related
infections that most often kill AIDS patients. Tuberculosis, for
example, is the leading cause of death among AIDS patients in Africa.
Yet
another problem is the lack of trained health care workers in the
developing world. Many move to wealthy nations for better pay and
living conditions.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE
IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Elizabeth Stern and Caty
Weaver. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And
I'm Faith Lapidus. We would like to hear from you. Write to us at
Special English, Voice of America, Washington, D-C,
two-zero-two-three-seven, U-S-A. Or send electronic messages to
special@voanews.com. Join us again at this time next week for more news
about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And
I'm Steve Ember. On our program this week, we will tell how pollution
in China・s air is creating concerns about the Beijing Olympic Games. We
also will tell how people who stop smoking may help others who want to
stop. And, we tell about a United Nations report on treatment of AIDS
and the virus that causes the disease.
VOICE ONE:
Chinese
officials are making final preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games.
The games will officially open on August eighth. Recently, news
agencies reported about air quality problems in China's capital. Air
pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing late last month. The pollution
was so bad that the city's environmental protection agency warned
people with breathing problems to avoid outdoor activities. Officials
blamed a sandstorm for the poor air quality.
VOICE TWO:
Air
pollution can be a serious issue for people who compete in athletic
events. Some doctors have urged Olympic athletes not to train in China
because it could be harmful to their health. For example, Ethiopian
runner Haile Gebrselassie has the breathing disorder asthma. He has
chosen not to take part in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics for
health reasons.
The International Olympic Committee has said it
will cancel or postpone Olympic events, such as the marathon, if the
air quality is too dangerous for athletes.
VOICE ONE:
Some
international organizations have said the air in Beijing is among the
most polluted in the world. The air pollution has many causes,
including automobiles and burning of coal as a fuel. Chinese officials
are attempting to solve these problems by decreasing the amount of
traffic and ordering the use of natural gas instead of coal. Beijing
officials have also ordered surrounding areas to decrease their levels
of pollution.
China is also using weather satellites to help
predict weather conditions. The weather can influence air pollution
levels because of the effects of wind and rain.
VOICE TWO:
But
one weather expert says pollution might not be the biggest problem
facing the Olympic athletes. Doug Charko measures weather conditions
for the Canadian Olympic team. He studied weather conditions in Beijing
last summer to predict what Canadian athletes could expect at the
games. His study found that heat and humidity could be more of a
problem than air quality. Humidity levels measure wetness, especially
in the air.
Mister Charko also says efforts to reduce pollution
levels in China have only resulted in small changes. He noted that
Beijing has a population of eighteen million people. With so many
people, he said, it is very difficult to limit the large amounts of
pollution being released.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. With Steve Ember, I'm Faith Lapidus in Washington.
Would
you like to stop smoking? Knowing other people who are stopping may
help. A recent study shows that people who stop smoking often have an
influence on others around them, making them more likely to quit. The
study was published last month in The New England Journal of Medicine.
VOICE TWO:
Two
American researchers led the study on smoking. They are Nicholas
Christakis of Harvard University and James Fowler of the University of
California at San Diego. They examined the smoking and social customs
of twelve thousand people over a thirty-two year period. The
information used in the study was collected between nineteen
seventy-one and two thousand three. The twelve thousand individuals
were part of a larger research project known as the Framingham Heart
Study.
VOICE ONE:
The researchers found that people often
quit smoking in groups. Married people had strong effects on their
partners. Smokers who had a husband or wife who quit were sixty-seven
percent less likely to continue smoking. Those who had a friend who
quit were thirty-six percent less likely to keep smoking. And those
with a brother or sister who quit were twenty-five percent less likely
to remain a smoker. Even people who did not know each other but had
connections to the same people were affected by one another.
The
study also found that individuals with higher levels of education had
more influence on other people than those with less education.
VOICE TWO:
The
United States has an estimated forty-four million smokers. But the
number of Americans who smoke has decreased during the past thirty
years. Researchers found that smokers and non-smokers began forming
separate social groups during the period. Cigarette or tobacco use has
become less socially acceptable because of increased understanding of
the health risks linked to smoking.
The finding could help
public health campaigns to be more successful by directing information
to social groups of people instead of individuals.
VOICE ONE:
The
researchers say smokers who do not quit could find themselves with
fewer friends and social connections. Because it is becoming less
socially acceptable to smoke, people who do will feel increasing
pressure to stop smoking.
Steven Schroeder is a professor of
medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. He says the
study is good news because it shows that more smokers are giving in to
pressure from those around them to quit. But he says smokers should not
be condemned because they have trouble giving up cigarettes.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Finally,
the United Nations says almost three million people in developing
countries are receiving drugs for HIV -- the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. This is an increase of almost one million people from two years
ago. Still, the hope was to reach three million by two thousand five.
The
World Health Organization, the United Nations Children・s Fund and
UNAIDS reported the numbers earlier this month. W.H.O. Director-General
Margaret Chan welcomed the progress. But she noted that antiretroviral
therapy, or ART, alone will not solve the problem.
MARGARET
CHAN: "For every two persons we manage, to provide them with ART,
another five persons get infected. So again, we cannot underestimate
the power of prevention."
VOICE ONE:
The new U.N. report
says almost seventy-five percent of people receiving H.I.V. drugs are
in Africa. Sixty percent of those with H.I.V. in Africa are women.
Antiretroviral
therapy suppresses the virus. The drugs help patients live longer
without developing AIDS. The disease robs the body of its natural
defenses against infections.
An estimated nine million seven
hundred thousand people were in need of H.I.V. treatment last year in
areas with low and medium-wages. The report says that by the end of the
year, just over thirty percent of them were getting it.
VOICE TWO:
The
U.N. report says price reductions are a main reason why more people
with H.I.V., including more pregnant women, are receiving the drugs.
Also, supply systems have been redesigned to better serve individual
countries and smaller health centers. And treatments are simpler than
in the past.
But the report notes that huge barriers remain in
dealing with the AIDS problem. Getting patients to continue with their
treatment is difficult. There are still large numbers of people who do
not get tested for H.I.V. And, there are many others who get tested too
late and die within months.
VOICE ONE:
The U.N. report
also says there is not enough joint treatment of H.I.V. and the related
infections that most often kill AIDS patients. Tuberculosis, for
example, is the leading cause of death among AIDS patients in Africa.
Yet
another problem is the lack of trained health care workers in the
developing world. Many move to wealthy nations for better pay and
living conditions.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE
IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Elizabeth Stern and Caty
Weaver. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And
I'm Faith Lapidus. We would like to hear from you. Write to us at
Special English, Voice of America, Washington, D.C.,
two-zero-two-three-seven, U-S-A. Or send electronic messages to
special@voanews.com. Join us again at this time next week for more news
about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
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