Why E-Cigarettes Are So Dangerous

电子烟真的很危险

Nearly two dozen people—mostly young adults—have now been hospitalized with severe breathing difficulties as a result of vaping.

二十多人——大多都是年轻人——因为抽电子烟导致呼吸严重困难，现已住院。

According to NBC News, a total of 22 cases have been reported: four in Minnesota, 12 in Wisconsin, and six in Illinois—up from 14 reported cases in Wisconsin and Illinois in early August.

NBC新闻指出，目前共有22例案件报道，明尼苏达州4起，威斯康星州12起，伊利诺伊州6起——其中，威斯康星州和伊利诺伊州仅在八月初就有14人因为呼吸问题被送入医院。

Even more concerning: Doctors don't know for sure what exactly is causing these hospitalizations. Per NBC News, it's unclear what type of e-cigarette devices the people were using, what they were inhaling¹, and where they purchased the devices or e-liquids in the first place.

更令人担忧的是：医生尚不清楚导致这些人住院的确切原因。据NBC新闻表示，目前还不清楚这些人抽的电子烟的品牌和型号，也不知道这些设备和烟油的购买地。

In an August press release from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS), the admitted patients experienced symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue², chest pain, cough, nausea³, and weight loss—and NBC News notes that four patients in Wisconsin were hospitalized with what they initially⁴ thought was pneumonia⁵. The department said that while the severity varied⁶ among patients, some cases were so bad that they require breathing assistance.

威斯康星州卫生服务部（WDHS）在8月发布的新闻稿中表示，住院患者出现呼吸短促、疲劳、胸痛、咳嗽、恶心和体重减轻等症状——NBC新闻指出，4位来自威斯康星州的住院病人一开始以为自己患了肺炎。该部门表示，虽然患者的严重程度不一，但有些人的情况非常糟糕，甚至不得不使用呼吸辅助设备。

One patient, Wisconsin man in his mid-20s, was even put in a medically-induced coma⁷ as a result of lung damage from vaping, according to Fox 6 Now, a Wisconsin-based news channel. (It's believed, however, that specific incident may have been caused by a vape cartridge⁸ containing THC—the main psychoactive compound in marijuana; a trend that hasn't been seen in the other Wisconsin and Illinois cases).

根据威斯康星州新闻频道Fox 6 Now的报道，威斯康星州一位25岁的年轻患者由于抽电子烟导致肺部受损，而被医生诱导昏迷。（然而，也可能是因为电子烟筒中含有四氢大麻酚所致——这是大麻中的主要精神活性物质；但在威斯康星州和伊利诺伊州的其他住院案例中，并未发现这一趋势）。

"Vaping among teens has increased dramatically over the last several years," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike wrote in a press release. While the short- and long-term effects of vaping are still being researched, these recent hospitalizations heighten the need for parents talk with their teens about vaping and for both to understand the consequences and potential dangers of vaping.

伊利诺伊州公共卫生部主任恩戈齐·埃齐克（Ngozi Ezike）博士在一份新闻稿中写道：“过去几年里，抽电子烟的青少年人数急剧增加。”虽然研究员仍在研究抽电子烟的短期/长期影响，但近期的住院事件强调了父母与孩子谈论电子烟的必要性，此外，父母和孩子都应了解抽电子烟的后果和潜在危险。

Of course, the Midwest isn't alone in this vaping increase: According to a 2018 report from the surgeon general, more than 3.6 million U.S. youth, including 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle school students, use e-cigarettes regularly. Unfortunately, teens are even more likely to reap the consequences of e-cigarettes than adults.

当然，抽电子烟人数增长这一现象并不仅存在于美国中西部：根据2018年外科医生的报告，360多万美国青年人，包括五分之一的高中生和二十分之一的中学生，经常抽电子烟。不幸的是，抽电子烟对青少年产生的影响或许比成年人更大。