我們所知道的與電子煙有關的肺部疾病

我們所知道的與電子煙有關的肺部疾病

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.

數百人因一種與電子煙有關的肺部疾病而患病，還有幾人死亡。但是聯邦衛(wèi)生官員表示，他們仍然不知道是什么導致了這種毀滅性的疾病。

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，其中16%不到18歲。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煙草產品中心主任米奇·澤勒(Mitch Zeller)在電話會議上表示，該機構的刑事調查辦公室已經開始了“平行調查”。該辦公室正在調查有關這些產品的細節(jié)——它們是在哪里購買的，以及它們是如何被使用的——但該機構不打算起訴電子煙的個人用戶。

The laws around vaping

關于電子煙的法律

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)

Lung injuries from vaping are likely caused by toxic chemical fumes, say researchers at the Mayo Clinic, who studied lung biopsies from 17 patients who were believed to have vaping-related lung illness. The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

梅奧診所(Mayo Clinic)的研究人員表示，電子煙對肺部的傷害可能是由有毒的化學煙霧造成的。他們對17名據信患有電子煙相關肺部疾病的患者進行了肺部活檢。研究結果發(fā)表在《新英格蘭醫(yī)學雜志》上。

In addition to continued research, the rash of illnesses and a rise in young people vaping has prompted several states and the federal government to call for a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Officials hope that banning the flavors that are appealing to young people will cut back on the use of e-cigarettes.

除了繼續(xù)進行研究外，電子煙引發(fā)的疾病和年輕人吸食電子煙的增加也促使幾個州和聯邦政府呼吁禁止加味電子煙。官員們希望禁止對年輕人有吸引力的口味將減少電子煙的使用。

The Trump administration announced in mid-September that it would ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes. The ban, which is expected to take several weeks to enact, would include mint and menthol, which are popular flavors for young people.

特朗普政府在9月中旬宣布，將禁止銷售大多數口味的電子煙。這項禁令預計需要幾周時間才能通過，其中包括薄荷和薄荷醇，這兩種口味很受年輕人歡迎。

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.

據美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)報道，舊金山成為第一個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。倫敦市長布里德幾天后簽署了這項法令。舊金山的禁令之所以引人注目，不僅因為該市采取了早期行動，還因為它是領先的電子煙制造商Juul實驗室的所在地。

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，這些行動凸顯了電子煙反對者和健康倡導者所說的FDA在這一問題上的失職。來自舊金山、紐約和芝加哥的官員在3月份的一封信中批評FDA允許電子煙繼續(xù)銷售，而沒有對電子煙對公眾健康的影響進行審查。

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.

美國食品和藥物管理局(FDA)表示，它打算發(fā)布一項擬議的規(guī)則，將該機構的權力擴大到符合“煙草產品”法定定義的產品，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."

澤勒在早些時候的一份聲明中解釋說:“在這項最終規(guī)定之前，這些產品可以在沒有任何審查成分、生產方法和潛在危險的情況下銷售。”“根據這項新規(guī)定，我們將采取措施保護美國人免受煙草產品的危害，確保這些煙草產品有健康警告，并限制對未成年人的銷售。”