苏格兰烟民戒烟可获现金奖励

Smokers in deprived parts of the city of Dundee areto be paid to kick the habit in an initiative between public health organizations, municipal authorities and the Scottish government.

The pilot scheme to be tried in Dundee, north of Edinburgh, will see smokers offered 12.50 pounds per week to quit. Health bosses hope that 900 smokers will give up as a result in the next two years.

The money will be credited onto an electronic card, which they can redeem at their local supermarket for fresh food and other groceries, but not cigarettes and alcohol, local health body NHS said.

The money will be available for up to 12 weeks, with participants receiving nicotine replacement therapy through their local pharmacy, where they will also undergo weekly carbon monoxide tests to prove they have not succumbed.

If successful, the scheme could be rolled out across Scotland, which has high instances of coronary heart disease and cancer linked to smoking and poor diet, particularly in the "central belt" between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Scottish government in Edinburgh banned smoking in public places such as pubs and restaurants, in March 2006.

英国苏格兰敦提市目前在该市贫民区推广了一项新的戒烟计划，戒烟者将获得现金奖励。这项计划由英国公共卫生机构和苏格兰敦提市政府共同推出。

爱丁堡北部城市敦提启动的这项试点计划为准备戒烟的人每周提供12.5英镑的奖金。公共卫生官员希望在接下来的两年间能有900位烟民戒掉烟瘾。

当地国民健康保险服务部表示，奖金将被打到一张电子卡上，戒烟者可以用卡消费，在超市里购买新鲜食物或者其他杂物，但是不能用于购买烟酒。

整个奖励计划将持续12周。在此期间，戒烟者还要在当地诊所接受“尼古丁替代物”的治疗，巩固戒烟成果。他们还必须一周接受一次“一氧化碳测试”，以证实自己在这一周内确实没有再吸烟。

如果这一奖励计划获得成效，政府将在整个苏格兰地区推广。在苏格兰地区，尤其是爱丁堡和格拉斯哥这一“中心地带”，居民们患冠心病和癌症的几率比其他地区更高，而这些病症的元凶之一就是尼古丁。

苏格兰政府自2006年3月起就在酒吧、餐厅等公共场所实行禁烟。