電子香菸:菸草業巨頭面臨一大挑戰大綱

The latest wheeze

最新潮的吞雲吐霧方式

BETTING against an industry with addicts for customers carries obvious risks. But these are uncertain times for Big Tobacco. Electronic cigarettes, once dismissed as a novelty, now pose a serious threat. E-cigarettes work by turning nicotine-infused liquid into vapour, which is then inhaled. A user is therefore said to be “vaping”, not smoking. More important, he or she is not inhaling all the noxious substances found in ordinary smokes.

和一個擁有忠誠客戶羣的行業打賭，顯而易見這是在冒險。但對於菸草巨頭而言，現在確實是一個不確定的時期。曾經被視爲另類的電子香菸，如今卻對其構成了巨大的威脅。電子煙的工作原理是將含有尼古丁的煙液霧化成可吸入人體的煙霧，因此吸電子煙的人通常被形容成“吸霧”，而不是吸菸。更重要的是，Ta們並不會吸入普通香菸中的全部有害物質。

In 2012 sales of e-cigarettes in America were between $300m and $500m, say analysts. That is paltry compared with the $80 billion-plus market for conventional cigarettes in the country. But e-cigarette sales doubled last year, and are expected to double again in 2013. Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo, a bank, believes sales of e-cigarettes could overtake sales of the normal sort within a decade.

有分析師稱，2012年美國電子煙的銷售額在3億美元到5億美元之間。與該國超過800億美元的傳統香菸市場相比，這個數字是微不足道的。但是，電子煙的銷售額卻比去年翻了一番，預計2013年將再次翻番。富國銀行的 Bonnie Herzog認爲，電子煙的銷售額可能會在未來十年間超過傳統香菸的銷售額。

That may depend on how governments react. E-cigarettes are probably not good for you. One study showed that vaping decreased lung capacity. Yet a switch from smoking to vaping could improve public health, some say. E-cigarettes may help smokers quit more efficiently than nicotine patches or gum. This notion has not been thoroughly tested, however, so governments are wary.

這可能取決於政府將作何反應。電子煙可能不利於你的健康。一項研究表明，“吸霧”會減少肺活量。但有人認爲，從吸菸轉變到吸霧，可以改善公共衛生環境。電子煙可能會比尼古丁貼片或口香糖更快地幫助吸菸者戒掉煙癮。不過，這一觀點還沒有經過全面驗證，因此政府對此態度謹慎。

America has warned e-cigarette manufacturers not to make health claims. New tobacco guidelines in Europe would either tightly limit the nicotine content of e-cigarettes or force them to undergo clinical trials, as pharmaceutical products do. Elsewhere a patchwork of regulation exists, including outright bans in some countries.

美國已經警告電子煙製造商不要做出健康聲明。歐洲新菸草準則將嚴格限制電子煙的尼古丁含量，或強迫製造商參照製藥行業的做法進行臨牀測試。其他地區也有不同的監管規定，包括某些國家實施的完全禁令。

None of this has stopped companies from pitching to consumers. In America and Britain advertisements for e-cigarettes have appeared on television—forbidden territory for standard cigarettes. Craig Weiss, the head of NJOY, America’s top-selling brand of e-cigarettes, vows to make traditional ones obsolete. His ads crow: “Cigarettes, you’ve met your match.”

這一切都沒能停止生產企業向消費者推銷產品。美國和英國的電子煙廣告已經在電視（傳統香菸廣告的禁區）上播出。NJOY是美國最暢銷的電子煙品牌，該公司負責人Craig Weiss發誓要讓傳統香菸成爲過去。他的廣告詞是“傳統香菸，你遇上對手了。”

America’s tobacco giants do not think he is blowing smoke. Last year Lorillard (the maker of brands such as Newport and Kent) bought Blu, an e-cigarette maker, for $135m. NJOY is rumoured to be facing a takeover, perhaps by Altria (the maker of Marlboro). Foreign cigarette makers, such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, also have stakes in the industry, while other firms are working on their own vaporous offerings.

美國的菸草巨頭並不認爲他是在說空話。去年，紐寶 （Newport）和箭牌（Kent）等品牌的製造商羅瑞拉德菸草公司以1.35億美元價格收購了電子煙製造商Blu。據傳，NJOY也即將面臨被萬寶路品牌的製造商奧馳亞收購的命運。還有一些公司也在竭盡全力生產自己的電子香菸，同時，英美菸草、日本菸草國際等國外香菸製造商也加入到這一行業的競爭中。

E-cigarette executives dream of relegating traditional cigarettes to the ashtray of history. But as they struggle with taxes, patents and red tape, they may come to envy Big Tobacco’s deep pockets. More deals are likely, thrashed out no doubt in vapour-filled rooms.

電子煙企業的高管夢想着把傳統香菸塵封在歷史的“菸灰缸”中。但是當他們爲納稅、專利以及繁瑣的手續疲於奔命時，可能猛然會爲菸草巨頭們的雄厚財力而慨嘆。更多的交易可能正在緊鑼密鼓地進行着，那裏必將煙霧繚繞。