How bad are e-cigarettes for you?
电子烟对人有多糟？
The regulators at America's Food and Drug Administration could be forgiven for wanting a cigarette break. They rushed to meet a September 9th deadline to decide whether more than 6.5m e-cigarette products made by over 500 companies can remain on the market. When the deadline arrived, the agency had made determinations covering about 93% of the products submitted for review. It will block the sale of more than 946,000 flavoured products.
美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）的监管人员要是想休息一下，抽根烟，那也情有可原。他们要赶在 9 月 9 号这个最后期限来做出决定：是否要让 500 多家公司生产的 650 多万电子烟产品继续留在市场上。当这个最后期限到来时，FDA 已经对大约 93% 提交审查申请的产品做出了决定，将阻碍超过 946,000 种调味电子烟产品的销售。
E-cigarettes have attracted keen government attention in recent years. In 2019 America's surgeon-general called vaping an epidemic among young people, criticising in particular products with "kid-friendly" flavours, such as cinnamon and vanilla. Later that year more than 450 people in America suffered from a mysterious and severe lung illness that was linked to vaping.
近年来，电子烟受到了政府的密切关注。2019 年，美国公共卫生局局长称吸电子烟是年轻人群中的流行性疾病，尤其指责带有“儿童友好”口味的产品，例如肉桂味和香草味的（电子烟）。同年晚些时候，美国有超过 450 人患上一种诡异且严重的肺炎。这种肺炎和吸电子烟有关。
Other countries, including Brazil, India and Singapore, have already banned e-cigarettes. So what goes into them, and how bad are they really?
其他国家，包括巴西，印度和新加坡，都已经禁止电子烟了。所以电子烟里都有什么？它们究竟有多糟？
The devices use an electric charge to vaporise a dose of nicotine (accompanied, often, by various flavouring chemicals). Nitrosamines, a carcinogenic family of chemicals, have been found in e-cigarette vapour, albeit at levels low enough to be deemed insignificant.*** Metallic particles from the device's heating element, such as nickel and cadmium, are also a concern. High exposure to these can increase the risk of cancer.
电子烟通过电荷来汽化一剂尼古丁（通常还伴着各种各样的调味化学品）。电子烟的蒸汽中发现了亚硝胺，这是一种致癌类的化学品，尽管含量低得被视为微不足道。电子烟加热元件中的金属颗粒，例如镍和镉，也令人担忧。大量接触这些物质会增加患癌的风险。
It also contains free radicals, highly oxidising substances that can damage tissue or DNA, and which are thought to come mostly from flavourings. Then there is nicotine. Besides being addictive, it is known to have an adverse affect all around the body. Work in animals suggests that exposure to nicotine at an early age could make users more susceptible to other addictive substances later in life.
电子烟也含有自由基。自由基是具有高度氧化性的物质，它可以破坏人体组织或者损伤 DNA。据说电子烟里的自由基大部分来自调味化学品。另外，电子烟里还有尼古丁。尼古丁除了具有成瘾性之外，它还以对全身器官都有不利影响而出名。针对动物的研究显示，早年接触尼古丁的使用者在以后的生活中会更容易受到其他成瘾性物质的影响。
主编：Raven、菜菜
品控：Raven
审核：Mia
重点词汇
block
/blɑːk/
v. 阻碍，妨碍；堵塞
例句：The road was blocked by cars.（堵塞）
例句：He stood up and blocked my exit.（阻碍）
英文释义：to prevent something from happening, developing or making progress
搭配短语：to block a proposal
搭配短语：to block a rule
flavoured
/ˈfleɪ.vɚd/
adj. 调味的，有特殊口味的
相关词汇：flavour（n. 口味，风味）
搭配短语：a flavoured drink
vaping
/ˈveɪ.pɪŋ/
n. 吸电子烟
相关词汇：vape（v. 吸电子烟）
相关词汇：vapour（n. 蒸汽，雾气）
epidemic
/ˌep.əˈdem.ɪk/
n. 流行病，传染病的流行
词义辨析：epidemic，pandemic
两个词都有流行病的意思。epidemic 一般指在社区群体中传播的疾病，传播范围较小，而 pandemic 指的是全球范围内广泛流行的疾病。例如新冠疫情就属于 pandemic。
suffer
/ˈsʌf.ɚ/
v. 患病；受折磨
搭配短语：suffer from（一般搭配疾病名称）
搭配短语：to suffer from headache
搭配短语：suffer sth.（一般表示经受不愉快的事情）
搭配短语：to suffer loss / punishment
charge
/tʃɑːrdʒ/
n. 电荷，储电量
英文释义：the amount of electricity that an electrical device stores
搭配短语：on charge
例句：My phone is on charge.
vaporise
/ˈveɪ.pɚ.aɪz/
v. 使蒸汽化，使蒸发
相关词汇：vapour（n. 蒸汽，雾气）
词根词缀：-ise（常见的动词后缀）
相关词汇：memorise（v. 记忆）
相关词汇：authorise（v. 批准）
相关词汇：criticise（v. 批评）
carcinogenic
/ˌkɑːr.sən.oʊˈdʒen.ɪk/
adj. 致癌的
相关词汇：carcinogen（n. 致癌物质）
例句：America classified environmental tobacco smoke as class one carcinogen.
albeit
/ɑːlˈbiː.ɪt/
conj. 尽管，虽然
近义词：though（conj. 虽然）
近义短语：in spite of
例句：The evening was very pleasant, albeit a little quiet.
deem
/diːm/
v. 认为，觉得
搭配短语：deem it + adj.
例句：We will help whenever you deem it appropriate.
搭配短语：be deemed ...
例句：The story was deemed too controversial.
insignificant
/ˌɪn.sɪɡˈnɪf.ə.kənt/
adj. 不重要的
词根词缀：in-（表示否定）
相关词汇：inaccurate（adj. 不准确的）
相关词汇：incorrect（adj. 不正确的）
反义词：significant（adj. 重要的）
exposure
/ɪkˈspoʊ.ʒɚ/
n. 接触，遭受
搭配短语：exposure to sth.
例句：A brief exposure to radiation could be very dangerous.
oxidise
/ˈɑːk.sə.daɪz/
v. 使氧化
相关词汇：oxygen（n. 氧气）
相关词汇：oxidised（adj. 被氧化的）
搭配短语：an oxidised apple
tissue
/ˈtɪʃ.uː/ /ˈtɪs.juː/
n.（动物或植物细胞的）组织
搭配短语：fat tissue
addictive
/əˈdɪk.tɪv/
adj. 使人上瘾的
相关词汇：addict（n. 对有害之物上瘾的人）
搭配短语：a drug addict
搭配短语：a shopping addict
相关词汇：addicted（adj. 上瘾的）
搭配短语：be addicted to
例句：They are addicted to watching TV.
adverse
/ædˈvɝːs/
adj. 不利的
近义词：harmful
susceptible to
易受影响的
相关词汇：susceptible（adj. 易受影响的）
英文释义：very likely to be influenced or harmed by sb. or sth.
例句：I think most people are more susceptible to prejudice than to reason.（引自美国著名电影评论家 Roger Ebert）