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電子香菸能導致嚴重肺部問題

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Just a few years ago, electronic cigarettes were touted as a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes. Expensive ad campaigns were launched, heavily hyping that e-cigarettes produced harmless vapor that wouldn't cause the adverse health effects that regular cigarette smoking did. Many bought into it, but there remained a segment of people, myself included, remaining dubious about such claims.

就在幾年前,電子香菸被廣泛認爲是菸草製品的替代品。很多廠商將大量的錢投入廣告,大肆宣傳電子香菸產生的是無毒煙霧,不會像正常香菸一樣對健康造成不良影響。於是,很多人都爭相購買電子香菸。但是仍然有一部分人,包括我自己,對這個說法產生疑問。

Turns out that such skepticism is justified. According to a bombshell new study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, it turns out that electronic cigarettes contain chemicals and flavor enhancers that prove to be even more hazardous than nicotine. However, since most medical studies and reports focus exclusively on nicotine consumption, these additives and flavorants have gone largely unheeded, until now.

事實證明,那種懷疑是正確的。根據哈佛公共衛生學院一項最新研究顯示,電子香菸所包括的化學成分以及增香劑,要比尼古丁更具有危害性。然而,因爲目前絕大部分的研究報告主要關注尼古丁的含量,直到現在,這些添加劑和實用香料都沒有被注意到。

電子香菸能導致嚴重肺部問題

For this study, Harvard researchers tested 51 brands of electronic cigarettes available. Their findings are startling. 75 percent of e-cigs tested contain harmful chemicals and additives responsible for the potentially lethal disease bronchiolitis obliterans, or as it's known in the medical industry, popcorn lung.

爲了這項研究,哈佛大學的研究者測試了51種不同品牌的電子香菸。研究結果令人震驚。75%的被測試電子煙都包含有害化學物質和添加劑--這些可能導致潛在致命疾病--閉塞性支氣管炎,或者說是醫學界所熟知的"爆米花肺"。

Popcorn lung received its name when microwave popcorn factory workers developed the disease after constantly inhaling fumes and vapor containing diacetyl. This artificial flavorant is the primary ingredient in imitation butter used for microwave popcorn. Alas, diacetyl isn't just found in imitation butter as the food industry loves to use it to produce other fake flavors, including candy, fruit and alcohol.

"爆米花肺"之所以得此名稱,是因爲當時在微波爆米花廠工作的工人們持續不斷地吸入含有二乙酰的煙霧和蒸汽,導致這種疾病的發病率很高。這種人造的二乙酰不僅能在仿造黃油(一種工業上經常使用並會產生其他味道的原料)找到,在糖果、水果、酒精裏也有發現。

Diacetyl isn't the only harmful chemical found in electronic cigarettes. Harvard researchers also discovered acetoin and 2-3 pentanedione, both of which also cause respiratory problems when inhaled consistently. You might be wondering why manufacturers continue to use these chemicals despite their known harmfulness. The answer is twofold: it's cheap to use and a person's health is not top priority when there's a profit to be made.

二乙酰並不是在電子煙中發現的唯一有害物質。哈佛研究者還發現了乙偶姻和2-3戊二酮--如果長時間吸入它們,將引發呼吸問題。你也許會好奇,爲什麼商家在知道其危害後仍然大量使用這些有害的化學物質。答案是兩面的:廉價的原料成本--比起消費者的身體健康,利潤纔是最先考慮的問題。

Popcorn lung is no laughing matter as the condition is considered incurable by medical doctors. It's a permanent scarring of the lungs from the inside out. Without a lung transplant, survival and recovery is virtually nil. Quite a price to pay for attempting to be trendy by smoking electronic cigarettes.

在目前醫學界還無法根治"爆米花肺"的情況下,這並不是一個好笑的事情。它是一種永久性的,從內而外的對肺部的侵蝕。如果不進行移植,存活率或者康復率爲零。趕時髦去吸電子煙製品是需要付出很大代價的。

I have never understood the appeal of smoking any kind of cigarette. Not only is it a costly habit that eats a serious hole in one's wallet, the health problems both tobacco and electronic cigarettes cause far outweigh any supposed benefits they offer. With all the knowledge we possess today regarding smoking of any kind, it's a wonder why anyone would even try it at all.

我不能理解煙製品的魅力。它不僅是一個要爲之掏腰包的奢侈習慣,而且由菸草和香菸導致的健康問題遠超它帶來的好處。就目前我們所涉及的所有關於吸菸的知識,甚至很難理解爲什麼每個人都想嘗試一下吸菸。

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