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decrease or discourage

loverofenglish

Senior Member
Vietnamese
Hi! Here is a question in my exercise book.
They started a campaign to ______________ smoking among teennagers.
A- decrease
B- discourage (key)
Why isn't A chosen, please?
I (and Google) prefer 'reduce smoking' to 'decrease smoking' in your sentence. There are a number of threads on the differences between 'decrease' and 'reduce', though no clear answer. Some people dislike using 'decrease' with an object, as in 'decrease smoking'; perhaps the person who wrote your exercise book is one of them.
Why isn't A chosen, please?
I think many campaigns discourage or encourage. Similarly, in his political campaign, a candidate encourages people to vote for him, not increases the number of his voters.
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