Is Snus Safer Than Other Forms of Tobacco?

鼻烟是否比其它烟草更安全？

The FDA recently granted "modified risk" status to one brand of snus, a tobacco product that's popular in Sweden and starting to become a thing in the US. But while it might be less risky¹ than other tobacco products, it's still not exactly safe.

最近，美国食品与药品监管局批准一种品牌的鼻烟为“改良风险烟草”。鼻烟是一种在瑞典十分流行并开始在美国风靡的一种烟草产品。然而，虽然鼻烟与其它烟草制品相比可能有更低的风险，但这并不能说明它绝对安全。

Snus (rhymes with goose) comes in little pouches², meant to be tucked between the upper lip and the gums. Unlike chewing or dip tobacco, it doesn't cause excessive salivation, so there's no constant spitting.

鼻烟（与鹅的发音押韵）是一种小袋装产品，用户需将其放在上唇和牙龈之间。与口嚼烟草或浸渍烟草不同，鼻烟不会引起过多的唾液分泌，所以无需经常把使用过的烟草吐出来。

All of these oral, or "smokeless," tobacco products carry a risk of cancer. Since you're not breathing in smoke, lung cancer isn't an issue, but people who use smokeless tobacco have higher rates of cancers of the mouth, throat, and tongue, plus pancreatic and esophageal cancer.

所有这些口服或“无烟”烟草制品都有致癌风险。由于它们是无烟的，因此不会导致肺癌，但使用无烟烟草制品的烟民患口腔癌、咽喉癌、舌癌、胰腺癌和食道癌的几率会更高。

Snus carries less risk of some of those cancers than other tobacco products, enough that if a cigarette smoker were to stop smoking and switch completely to snus, they would be at a lower risk. So after snus maker³ Swedish Match provided evidence about the risks, the FDA agreed to let the company add the following text to its labels: "Using General Snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic⁴ bronchitis."与其它烟草制品相比，使用鼻烟导致上述癌症的风险更低，若吸烟者能够戒烟并完全转换成使用鼻烟，他们的患癌率也会降低。所以在瑞典火柴公司（鼻烟制造商）提供了相关风险证据后，美国食品与药品监管局同意在该公司的烟草制品上贴上如下标签：“使用通用鼻烟而非普通香烟会降低用户患口腔癌、心脏病、肺癌、中风、肺气肿和慢性支气管炎的风险。”

This is the first time the FDA has granted modified-risk status to a tobacco product. The agency's press release, however, emphasizes that this doesn't mean snus is "safe." The product still has to carry one of the standard warnings for smokeless tobacco, which include statements like "WARNING: This product can cause mouth cancer." The acting⁵ FDA commissioner⁶, Ned Sharpless, summed up the agency's position:

这是美国食品与药品监管局首次批准烟草制品为“改良风险”状态。然而，该机构在其新闻稿中强调，这并不意味着鼻烟是“安全”的。该产品仍贴有无烟烟草的标准警告语，例如“警告：该产品或导致口腔癌。”美国食品与药品监管局的代理专员奈德·夏普莱斯（Ned Sharpless）总结了该机构的立场：

While we are authorizing⁷ these specific modified risk tobacco products, it's important for the public to understand that all tobacco products — including these — pose risk. Anyone who does not currently use tobacco products, especially youth, should refrain from doing so.

虽然我们批准了这些特定的烟草制品为改良风险烟草，但公众需要知道，所有的烟草制品——包括这些制品——都存在潜在风险。目前不使用烟草制品的人，尤其是青少年，应继续避免使用。