A new study has warned that a third of all men currently under the age of 20 in China will eventually die prematurely if they do not give up smoking.
最近出炉的一份报告显示，中国20岁以下的男性如果不放弃吸烟，他们中的三分之一会因此而过早地结束自己的生命。
The research, published in The Lancet medical journal, says two-thirds of men in China now start to smoke before 20.
发表于《柳叶刀》医学杂志上的研究显示，中国三分之二的男性在20岁之前就开始抽烟。
Around half of those men will die from the habit, it concludes.
并表明，这些人中的一半会死于此习惯。
The scientists conducted two nationwide studies, 15 years apart, covering hundreds of thousands of people.
科学家们在15年间共进行了两项全国性的调查，覆盖人群达百万。

In 2010, around one million people in China died from tobacco usage. But researchers say that if current trends continue, that will double to two million people - mostly men - dying every year by 2030, making it a "growing epidemic of premature death".
2010年，中国有100万人死于抽烟。但研究人员表示，如果此形势继续发展下去，到2030年，这个数字会翻倍，每年会有200万中国人（大部分是男性）死于抽烟。早逝将成为流行病。
While more than half of Chinese men smoke, only 2.4% of Chinese women do. The study was conducted by scientists from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control.
在中国，一半男性都有抽烟的习惯，但只有2.4%的女性抽烟。此研究由牛津大学，中国医学科学院和中国疾病控制中心的专家们共同开展。
But co-author Richard Peto said there was hope - if people can be persuaded to quit.
不过，此报告的作者之一Richard Peto表示，如果人们能够戒烟，事情还是有转机的。
"The key to avoid this huge wave of deaths is cessation, and if you are a young man, don’t start," he said.
他说，“阻止这种惨剧发生的唯一办法就是戒烟，年轻人趁早就别学吸烟。”
In many parts of China, meals often fit a comfortable pattern. After putting down their chopsticks, men commonly push their chairs back from the table and light cigarettes. No wonder China has struggled to impose a smoking ban in public places.
在中国大部分地区的饭局上，男人们放下筷子后，通常把椅子往后一挪便点起一根烟。也难怪中国出台禁止在公共场合吸烟的规定。
China is the world’s biggest consumer of cigarettes - one in three cigarettes smoked globally is in China - as well as the world’s biggest tobacco producer. More than 300 million people - about a quarter of the population - smoke, with the average smoker consuming 22 cigarettes a day.
中国是世界上最大的烟草生产国和消费国，世界上每三个人吸烟，就有一个是中国人。中国有三亿多烟民，几乎占总人口的四分之一。每个烟民平均每天吸22根烟。
In a country where smoking is so ingrained in daily life, few understand the harmful effects of tobacco use. According to the World Health Organization, only 25% of Chinese adults can list the specific health hazards of smoking, from lung cancer to heart disease.
在抽烟这个习惯如此根深蒂固的国家，很少有人明白吸烟的危害。据世界卫生组织表示，只有25%的成年人能说出吸烟的具体危害，包括肺癌和心脏病。
Globally, tobacco kills up to half of its users, according to the World Health Organization.
世界卫生组织的数据显示，世界范围内，已有一半的烟民死于抽烟。