Picture this:you’re switching channels and you come across an advertisement for a popular cigarette brand with doctors promoting its health benefits. Unbelievable? Think again. A century ago, attitudes around smoking were strikingly different, and, shocking though it may now be, it was common to see health professionals give their approval to cigarette makers.
In a jaw-dropping state of affairs , doctors weren’t the only ones to promote smoking —in fact , during the first run of the cartoon show The Flintstones in 1960, its official sponsor was Winston cigarettes, and in one advertising session, the characters Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are seen smoking a pack together, with the latter remarking:“It tastes good, like a cigarette should.”
There was pushback in the media against the overstatements of wealthy tobacco giants (巨头) however,and it was the American issue of Reader’s Digest which regularly sounded the smoke alarm.The first story on the topic was published in its pages in 1924.“Does Tobacco Injure the Human Body?”, focused on a groundbreaking study that concluded smoking was “one of the very significant reasons fewer men than women attain old age. ”Another story published in 1952 called “Cancer by the Carton” was credited with contributing to the largest drop in cigarette smoking since the Great Depression.
Smoking has lost its cool factor in recent decades, and the number of smokers across the country continues to steadily decline. In 1922 over 65,000 tons of tobacco were sold in the UK , reaching a peak of 125,960 tons sold in 1961. Due to growing public awareness of smoking’ s harmful health effects, by 2014 that figure had dropped to 43,793 tons.
In the past decade, the rate of smokers has dropped considerably. And it’s young people in particular who are turning away from smoking: 25.7 percent of 18-24 year olds smoked regularly in 2011 while in 2018 16.8 per cent did. Hear that? It’ s the collective sound of lungs breathing again.
8. What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?
A.Doctors consider smoking harmful to health. |
B.People’s attitudes to smoking remain the same. |
C.Advertisements for tobacco are everywhere on TV. |
D.Cigarette producers disagreed with health proessionals. |
9. What did the stories in Reader’ s Digest reveal?
A.Smoking made profits for tobacco giants. |
B.Smoking contributed to the Great Depression. |
C.Smoking led to a shorter life of men than women. |
D.Smoking caused damage to people’s mental health. |
10. What is the author’ s atitude to the reduction of smoking?
A.Objective. | B.Doubful. |
C.Negative. | D.Favorable. |
11. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.The harnful effects of smoking |
B.The ups and downs of tbacco industry |
C.The change of attitudes towards tobacco |
D.The increasing awareness of quitting smoking |