Is it time to quit vaping?
是時候戒電子菸了嗎？
More than 500 cases of severe lung illness in 38 states. Seven deaths. A proposed federal ban of most flavored e-cigarettes and new efforts in many states to counter an epidemic of youth vaping.
美國的38個州出現了500多例嚴重的肺疾病例。7人死亡。美國政府正在擬議一項針對大多數口味電子菸的聯邦禁令，多州採取新措施以應對青少年吸電子菸的現狀。
There's been an avalanche of vaping news this month, which leaves many users facing a crucial question: ls it time to quit? Here's a look at the issues.
本月爆發了大量有關電子菸的新聞，這使得許多電子菸菸民面臨一個至關重要的問題：是時候戒電子菸了嗎？以下就是關於這些問題的科普。
- How big is vaping?
電子菸的市場有多大？
E-cigarettes swept onto the market about a decade ago. They're now a $2.6 billion industry in the United States, and roughly 20, 000 vape and smoke shops have sprung up across the country in the past few years. There is also a thriving black market for vape pods. A survey last year found that 10.8 million American adults used e-cigarettes and that more than half were also smoking cigarettes.
大約十年前，電子菸橫掃(美國) 市場。如今，電子菸已經成為了一個價值26億美元的產業。在過去幾年中，大約有2萬家電子菸店和銷售電子菸配件商店在全國各地湧現。煙彈黑市也在蓬勃發展。去年的一項研究發現，美國有1080萬成年人使用電子菸，其中一半以上也還在抽傳統煙。
- Is vaping safer than smoking?
吸電子菸比吸傳統煙更安全嗎？
There was an idea for a while that e-cigarettes,because they don't generate smoke and tar, were safer than smoking cigarettes or at least that they could help a smoker shift to a less dangerous alternative. But the mysterious spate of illnesses thrust concerns about vaping's health effects into the spotlight.
曾經有一段時間，人們認為吸電子菸比吸傳統香菸更安全，或者至少電子菸可能幫助菸民換種不那麼威脅健康的選擇，因為電子菸不會產生煙霧和焦油。但是，最近出現了一系列原因不明的疾病病例，這把人們對電子菸健康影響的擔憂推到了聚光燈下。
Dr. Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, noted that the organization's opposition to vaping predated the outbreak. He disputed the perception that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative and pointed to the lack of information about what chemicals they contain and the paucity of research about the effects of vaping.
美國肺臟協會的首席醫學官阿爾伯特.裡佐博士指出，該組織在病情爆發之前就反對吸電子菸。對於電子菸是一種更為安全的替代品這一看法，他提出質疑，並指出這是由於缺少電子菸中包含的化學成分的信息，以及缺少電子菸所造成的影響的研究。
"We have no evidence of whether it's safe at all.There's just no scientific basis for that." Rizzo said.
裡佐表示：「 我們沒有證據表明電子菸是完全安全的。目前就是沒有科學依據證明這一點。