我們對(duì)電子煙引起的肺病的了解

我們對(duì)電子煙引起的肺病的了解

Hundreds of people have become sick from a mysterious vaping-related lung illness and several people have died. But federal health officials say they still don't know what's causing the devastating sickness.

數(shù)百人死于一種神秘的與蒸汽有關(guān)的肺部疾病，還有幾人死亡。但是聯(lián)邦衛(wèi)生官員表示，他們?nèi)匀徊恢朗鞘裁磳?dǎo)致了這種致命的疾病。

The majority of those becoming sick with vaping-related illnesses are young men. (Photo: Vaping360 [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

More than half of the people who have become sick are under the age of 25, with 16% younger than 18. Nearly three-fourths of the patients are male.

超過一半的患者年齡在25歲以下，16%的患者年齡在18歲以下。將近四分之三的病人是男性。

Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said on the call that the agency's office of criminal investigations had started "parallel investigative efforts." The office is investigating details about the products — where they were purchased, and how they were being used — but the agency isn't planning on prosecuting individual e-cigarette users.

FDA煙草產(chǎn)品中心主任米奇·澤勒(Mitch Zeller)在電話中表示，該機(jī)構(gòu)的刑事調(diào)查辦公室已經(jīng)開始“平行調(diào)查”。該辦公室正在調(diào)查有關(guān)這些產(chǎn)品的細(xì)節(jié)——它們是在哪里購(gòu)買的，以及它們是如何被使用的——但該機(jī)構(gòu)不打算起訴個(gè)別電子煙用戶。

The laws around vaping

關(guān)于電子煙的法律

With flavors like peach lemonade and butterscotch, no wonder so many young people are attracted to vaping. (Photo: Lindsay Fox [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

San Francisco became the first city to ban e-cigarette sales after city officials voted in June to ban stores from selling the items and online retailers from delivering to city addresses, according to CNN. Mayor London Breed signed the ordinance a few days later. San Francisco's ban is notable not only for the city's early action but also because it's home to leading e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs.

據(jù)美國(guó)有線電視新聞網(wǎng)(CNN)報(bào)道，舊金山成為第一個(gè)禁止電子煙銷售的城市，此前該市官員在6月份投票禁止商店銷售電子煙，禁止在線零售商向城市地址投遞電子煙。幾天后，倫敦市長(zhǎng)布里德簽署了這項(xiàng)法令。舊金山的禁令之所以引人注目，不僅是因?yàn)樵撌械脑缙谛袆?dòng)，還因?yàn)樗穷I(lǐng)先的電子煙制造商Juul實(shí)驗(yàn)室的所在地。

What is the FDA's role in this?

FDA在其中扮演什么角色?

The actions highlight what e-cigarette opponents and health advocates say is the FDA's failure to act on the issue, points out CNN. Officials from San Francisco, New York and Chicago criticized the FDA in a March letter for allowing e-cigarettes to remain for sale without undergoing a review on their impact on public health.

CNN指出，這些行動(dòng)凸顯出電子煙反對(duì)者和健康倡導(dǎo)者所說的，F(xiàn)DA未能在這個(gè)問題上采取行動(dòng)。舊金山、紐約和芝加哥的官員在3月份的一封信中批評(píng)FDA允許電子煙繼續(xù)銷售，而沒有對(duì)電子煙對(duì)公眾健康的影響進(jìn)行審查。

The FDA banned e-cigarette sales to children under 18 in May 2016, but other regulation has been slippery. According to the FDA, currently e-cigarettes that are marketed for therapeutic purposes (like the cessation of smoking) are regulated by the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The FDA finalized a rule that went into effect in August 2016 that broadens the administration's authority to include e-cigarettes.

2016年5月，美國(guó)食品藥品監(jiān)督管理局禁止向18歲以下兒童銷售電子煙，但其他規(guī)定一直很棘手。據(jù)FDA稱，目前銷售的用于治療目的的電子煙(如戒煙)由FDA藥物評(píng)估和研究中心(CDER)監(jiān)管。FDA最終確定了一項(xiàng)規(guī)則，該規(guī)則于2016年8月生效，擴(kuò)大了政府將電子煙納入監(jiān)管范圍的權(quán)力。

The FDA has stated its intent to issue a proposed rule that would extend the agency's authority to products that meet the statutory definition of "tobacco product," which would include e-cigarettes.

美國(guó)食品藥品監(jiān)督管理局表示，它打算發(fā)布一項(xiàng)擬議的規(guī)則，將該機(jī)構(gòu)的權(quán)力擴(kuò)大到符合“煙草產(chǎn)品”法定定義的產(chǎn)品，其中包括電子煙。

"Before this final rule, these products could be sold without any review of their ingredients, how they were made, and their potential dangers," Zeller explained in an earlier statement. "Under this new rule, we're taking steps to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco products, ensure these tobacco products have health warnings, and restrict sales to minors."

澤勒在早些時(shí)候的一份聲明中解釋說:“在這項(xiàng)最終規(guī)定出臺(tái)之前，這些產(chǎn)品可以在不經(jīng)過任何成分審查的情況下銷售，也不需要審查它們的制作方法和潛在危險(xiǎn)。”“根據(jù)這項(xiàng)新規(guī)定，我們正在采取措施保護(hù)美國(guó)人免受煙草產(chǎn)品的危害，確保這些煙草產(chǎn)品有健康警告，并限制向未成年人銷售。”