我们对电子烟引起的肺病的了解

我们对电子烟引起的肺病的了解

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.

数百人死于一种神秘的与蒸汽有关的肺部疾病，还有几人死亡。但是联邦卫生官员表示，他们仍然不知道是什么导致了这种致命的疾病。

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.

超过一半的患者年龄在25岁以下，16%的患者年龄在18岁以下。将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烟草产品中心主任米奇·泽勒(Mitch Zeller)在电话中表示，该机构的刑事调查办公室已经开始“平行调查”。该办公室正在调查有关这些产品的细节——它们是在哪里购买的，以及它们是如何被使用的——但该机构不打算起诉个别电子烟用户。

The laws around vaping

关于电子烟的法律

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.

据美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)报道，旧金山成为第一个禁止电子烟销售的城市，此前该市官员在6月份投票禁止商店销售电子烟，禁止在线零售商向城市地址投递电子烟。几天后，伦敦市长布里德签署了这项法令。旧金山的禁令之所以引人注目，不仅是因为该市的早期行动，还因为它是领先的电子烟制造商Juul实验室的所在地。

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，这些行动凸显出电子烟反对者和健康倡导者所说的，FDA未能在这个问题上采取行动。旧金山、纽约和芝加哥的官员在3月份的一封信中批评FDA允许电子烟继续销售，而没有对电子烟对公众健康的影响进行审查。

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，美国食品药品监督管理局禁止向18岁以下儿童销售电子烟，但其他规定一直很棘手。据FDA称，目前销售的用于治疗目的的电子烟(如戒烟)由FDA药物评估和研究中心(CDER)监管。FDA最终确定了一项规则，该规则于2016年8月生效，扩大了政府将电子烟纳入监管范围的权力。

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.

美国食品药品监督管理局表示，它打算发布一项拟议的规则，将该机构的权力扩大到符合“烟草产品”法定定义的产品，其中包括电子烟。

"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."

泽勒在早些时候的一份声明中解释说:“在这项最终规定出台之前，这些产品可以在不经过任何成分审查的情况下销售，也不需要审查它们的制作方法和潜在危险。”“根据这项新规定，我们正在采取措施保护美国人免受烟草产品的危害，确保这些烟草产品有健康警告，并限制向未成年人销售。”