"電子香菸"在美引發爭議

Should electronic cigarettes be a new option for smokers trying to kick the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed.

More than half of people questioned in a poll think electronic cigarettes should be regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, but 47 percent believe the devices should be available to smokers who want to quit.

"In the hunt for a safer cigarette, electronic cigarettes, often referred to as ecigarettes, are becoming a popular option among those either trying to quit or who are looking to replace standard Tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer," Zogby International, which conducted the poll, said in a statement.

About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the poll had heard about ecigarettes, which are battery-powered, or rechargeable devices that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but an odorless water vapor.

Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using electronic cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit.

The WHO said people who puff on ecigarettes inhale a fine mist of nicotine in the lungs.

Nearly a third of people questioned in the poll think that e-cigarettes, because they don't produce smoke, should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden, but 46 percent disagreed.

Men who were aware of the availability of ecigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be an option available to smokers who want to quit.

Young people, aged 18-29, and singles were the groups most open to trying electronic cigarettes.

Tobacco is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide, according to the WHO.

對戒菸者來說，電子香菸應該是一種新的選擇嗎？美國民衆對這一問題看法各異。

在一項最新調查中，半數以上受訪者認爲美國食品藥品監督管理局應管制電子香菸，但仍有47%的受訪者認爲應該可以向戒菸者出售電子香菸。

開展此項調查的佐格比國際調查公司在一份聲明中稱：“在尋找更安全香菸的過程中，電子香菸這一選擇日益受到戒菸者和想替換普通煙霧的人們的歡迎，而生產商則聲稱這種產品更加安全。”

共有4611名成年人蔘與了此項調查，其中大約半數受訪者聽說過以電池爲能量，或可充電的電子香菸。菸民在使用時需點燃電子香菸內的液態尼古丁，這不會冒出煙霧，而只會揮發出無嗅的水汽。

世界衛生組織（WHO）曾在去年提醒人們不要吸電子香菸，稱沒有證據證明其安全性，以及幫助戒菸的功用。

世衛組織稱，菸民在吸電子香菸時會將純霧體尼古丁吸入肺部。

近三分之一的受訪者認爲，由於電子香菸不產生煙霧，因此應該允許在禁菸區吸，但46%的受訪者表示反對。

知曉電子香菸的男性比女性更傾向於認爲可以向戒菸者出售電子香菸。

年齡在18歲至29歲的年輕人、以及單身男女對嘗試電子香菸的態度最開放。

世衛組織稱，吸菸是全球最大的一項單獨的可預防性死因。

Vocabulary:

solution：a homogeneous, molecular mixture of two or more substances（溶液）

odorless：having no odor（無嗅的）

puff：to take puffs at a cigar, cigarette（吸菸）

inhale: to breathe in; draw in by breathing（吸入）