《经济学人》双语：美国如何监管电子烟？

原文标题：
Vaping and health
Smoke and mirrors
The possible unintended consequences of anti-vaping policies
电子烟与健康
镜中迷雾
反电子烟政策可能带来意想不到的后果
 
E-cigarette taxes may reduce teenage drink-driving deaths
电子烟税可能会减少青少年酒驾死亡人数

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CIGARETTES, also known as vapes and by brand names such as Juul, are battery-operated devices that allow users to inhale nicotine without lighting a cigarette.
香烟，也称电子烟，比较出名的有Juul等品牌，其使用一种电池驱动的设备，让用户无需点烟就能吸入尼古丁。
 
They were introduced to America in 2006.

2006年电子烟被引入美国。

 
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 2m high-school pupils (about 14%) reported using e-cigarettes in 2022.
根据美国食品和药物管理局的数据，2022年有超过200万名高中生吸电子烟，占比约14%。
 
The FDA and others are trying to work out how to regulate them.
美国食品药品监督管理局和其他机构正在探索监管它们的方法。
 
The result may be a textbook example of unintended consequences.
但结果可能出人意料，可作为教科书案例。
 

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Though e-cigarettes are much less harmful than traditional cigarettes, their effect on health can still be serious.
尽管电子烟的危害比传统香烟小得多，但其对健康的影响仍不容小觑。
 
Vaping has been associated with a higher risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
吸电子烟会增加患哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺病的风险。
 
E-cigarette exposure may be particularly harmful for young adults—there are fears that it can harm brain development and trigger a lifelong addiction to nicotine.
青壮年接触电子烟危害可能更甚，有可能会损害大脑发育或引发尼古丁成瘾的现象。 
Thirty states tax e-cigarettes and all states ban sales to minors.
目前美国有30个州对电子烟征税，而所有州都禁止向未成年人销售电子烟。
 
[Paragraph 3]
One way to cut e-cigarette consumption is by imposing a tax.
征税能够减少人们对电子烟的消费。
 
A study by the Centre for Health Economics & Policy Studies at San Diego State University found that a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes is associated with a 14-26% decrease in vaping among high-school pupils.
据圣地亚哥州立大学卫生经济学与政策研究中心的一项研究发现，电子烟每增加1美元的税，高中生吸电子烟的比例就会下降14-26%。
 
Unexpectedly, the tax increase seems also to temper teenage alcohol consumption.
出乎意料的是，增税似乎也抑制了青少年的酒精消费。
 
One in ten teenagers reported binge drinking (four or more drinks for women, or five or more drinks for men, within a few hours at least once in the previous month).
十分之一的青少年存在酗酒问题。上个月，至少有一次酗酒且一喝就是数小时的青少年中，女生至少喝了四杯，而男生至少喝了五杯。 
According to the study, a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes is associated with a 10-11% reduction in teenage binge drinking.
根据这项研究，电子烟每增加1美元税收，青少年酗酒人数就会减少10-11%。
 
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Drinking and driving is especially deadly for young people.
酒驾对年轻人来说尤为致命。
 
Young adults (aged 16-20) who drink and drive are 17 times more likely to die in a car accident.
16至20岁酒驾的年轻人死于车祸的可能性是其他人的17倍。
 
The study found that increasing e-cigarette taxes reduces this, too.
而研究发现，提高电子烟税也能减少这种事故。
 
A $1 rise in e-cigarette taxes brings a 10-14% decline in the number of alcohol-related traffic deaths per 100,000 among 16-to-20-year-olds.
每提高1美元的电子烟税，16至20岁人群每10万人中与酒精有关的交通死亡人数就会下降10-14%。
 
[Paragraph 5]
Smoking and drinking tend to go together.
烟酒往往“并行”。
 
Teenagers who drink are twice as likely as others to light up.
饮酒的青少年吸烟的可能性是其他青少年的两倍。
 
One study found that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 in America reduced smoking among the affected age group.
一项研究发现，在美国，将饮酒年龄从18岁提高到21岁可以减少同年龄段受影响青少年的吸烟率。
 
It works in reverse, too.
反之亦然。
 
Raising taxes on cigarettes has been found to taper teenage drinking.
提高香烟税可以减少青少年饮酒率。
 
So surely lawmakers should rush to implement an e-cigarette tax?
所以，立法者们应该大刀阔斧地实施电子烟税吗？
 
The answer is not so simple.
答案没那么简单。
 
[Paragraph 6]
Many smokers use e-cigarettes to reduce harm from their habit.
许多吸烟者使用电子烟来减少吸烟习惯带来的危害。
 
Some also use e-cigarettes to quit traditional cigarettes.
有些人还用电子烟来戒掉传统香烟。
 
A review of 78 studies mostly from America, Britain and Italy found that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months when using nicotine e-cigarettes compared with other methods.
一项来自美国、英国和意大利的78项研究的综述发现，与其他方法相比，人们使用尼古丁电子烟更有可能实现至少6个月的戒烟。
 
England’s National Health Service (NHS) encourages e-cigarette use for quitting smoking.
英国国家卫生服务中心鼓励使用电子烟戒烟。
 
A tax increase on e-cigarettes, or an outright ban, could encourage smokers to switch to traditional cigarettes.
增税或完全禁止电子烟，吸烟者可能又会重新选择传统香烟。
 
A separate American study found that a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes reduced daily vaping but increased cigarette smoking in young adults.
且另一项美国研究发现，每增加1美元的电子烟税，每天吸电子烟的年轻人人数会减少，但吸烟人数会增加。
 
[Paragraph 7]
A good e-cigarette policy would discourage young adults while encouraging cigarette smokers to use them for quitting.
一项好的电子烟政策可能会让年轻人望而却步，也可能会帮助吸烟者使用电子烟戒烟。
 
Requiring a prescription for e-cigarettes could help.
也许，凭处方购买电子烟的方法会有所帮助。
 
The NHS announced in October 2021 that it may do just that.
英国国家卫生服务中心在2021年10月宣布，它可能会将此法付诸实践。
 
But Catherine Maclean, one of the San Francisco study’s authors, warns that this could also have unintended consequences in America.
但旧金山期刊的作者之一凯瑟琳·麦克林警告说，这也可能在美国产生意想不到的后果。
 
Requiring a prescription could push e-cigarette users and young adults towards regular cigarettes or illicit vaping products.
凭处方购买可能会导致电子烟使用者和年轻人更青睐普通香烟或非法电子烟产品。
 
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Limiting e-cigarettes could also spur drug use.
限制电子烟也可能刺激吸毒人数。
 
Raising the drinking age in the 1980s slightly increased marijuana smoking among young people.
20世纪80年代，饮酒年龄的提高略微刺激了吸食大麻的年轻人数量。
 
Raising the price of vaping could do the same, especially in states that have legalised the drug.
电子烟的提价也能起到同样的作用，尤其是在那些已经将大麻合法化的州。
 
[Paragraph 9]
Ms Maclean recommends stacking taxes so that the more harmful products are taxed at a higher rate than their less harmful substitutes.
麦克莱恩女士建议叠加征税，这样危害大的产品就会比危害小的替代品征收更高的税率。
 
Young people tend to be cash-strapped, so even a small tax increase could deter use.
年轻人往往囊中羞涩，所以即使是小幅增税也会阻止他们使用电子烟。
 
Tighter regulation is also a possible answer—Britain and the European Union regulate the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes.
更严格的监管可能也是一条出路，英国和欧盟都规定了电子烟中尼古丁的含量。
 
“Policymakers need to think beyond a targeted outcome and think more broadly,” says Ms Maclean.
麦克莱恩表示:“政策制定者需要更全面地考虑问题，而不是一味注重目标结果。”
 
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量661左右）
原文出自：2022年12月17日《The Economist》United States版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Maree本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
E-cigarettes一直以来，商家都以电子烟不含焦油、悬浮微粒等有害成分为卖点大肆推广，甚至在产品介绍中，打着“戒烟神器”“清肺”等旗号。殊不知，电子烟的安全性尚未得到充分的科学论证。迄今为止，国内外均没有系统的电子烟安全性评估资料，因此，还不能确定电子烟会给使用者的健康带来哪些潜在风险。实验表明，人们在使用电子烟时，除尼古丁以外，还可能把其他多种未发现的有毒化合物吸入体内。与此同时，电子烟所产生的二手烟，同样可能危及健康。电子烟也会向室内释放可吸入的液体细颗粒物和超细颗粒物、尼古丁和致癌物质。由于电子烟不会产生烟雾，所以就更容易误导消费者，使其产生安全、健康的错误认知。部分电子烟尼古丁含量超高，危害可能大大高于普通香烟。而且，有足够充分的证据可以说明，胎儿和青少年接触尼古丁，会对大脑发育产生远期不良后果。
 
【重点句子】（3 个）
Vaping has been associated with a higher risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
吸电子烟会增加患哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺病的风险。
 
One way to cut e-cigarette consumption is by imposing a tax.
征税能够减少人们对电子烟的消费。
 
Many smokers use e-cigarettes to reduce harm from their habit.
许多吸烟者使用电子烟来减少吸烟习惯带来的危害。