2023年经济学人 反电子烟政策可能产生的意外后果(2)

（单词翻译）

Smoking and drinking tend to go together.

吸烟和喝酒往往是相伴而生的。

Teenagers who drink are twice as likely as others to light up.

饮酒的青少年吸烟的可能性是其他青少年的两倍。

One study found that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 in America reduced smoking among the affected¹ age group.

一项研究发现，在美国，将饮酒年龄从18岁提高到21岁，可以减少18到21岁这个年龄段青少年的吸烟率。

It works in reverse, too.

反过来也是一样。

Raising taxes on cigarettes has been found to taper² teenage drinking.

人们发现，提高香烟税能够降低青少年饮酒率。

So surely lawmakers should rush to implement³ an e-cigarette tax?

那么，立法者就应该赶紧对电子烟征税吗？

The answer is not so simple.

答案没那么简单。

Many smokers⁴ use e-cigarettes to reduce harm from their habit.

许多吸烟者用电子烟来减少吸烟这一习惯对他们的身体带来的危害。

Some also use e-cigarettes to quit traditional cigarettes.

一些人还用电子烟来戒除传统香烟。

A review of 78 studies mostly from America, Britain and Italy found that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months when using nicotine⁵ e-cigarettes compared with other methods.

回顾了主要来自美国、英国和意大利的78项研究发现，与使用其他方法戒烟的人相比，吸含有尼古丁的电子烟的人更有可能戒烟超过六个月。

England's National Health Service (NHS) encourages e-cigarette use for quitting smoking.

英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）鼓励使用电子烟戒烟。

A tax increase on e-cigarettes, or an outright⁶ ban, could encourage smokers to switch to traditional cigarettes.

对电子烟增税或彻底禁止售卖电子烟，可能会导致吸烟者重新回归传统香烟的怀抱。

A separate American study found that a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes reduced daily vaping but increased cigarette smoking in young adults.

另一项美国研究发现，电子烟税每增加1美元，年轻人的日常吸烟量会减少，但吸烟的人数却会增加。

A good e-cigarette policy would discourage young adults while encouraging cigarette smokers to use them for quitting.

一项好的电子烟政策要在阻止年轻人购买电子烟的同时，鼓励其他吸烟者使用电子烟戒烟。

Requiring a prescription⁷ for e-cigarettes could help.

将电子烟纳入医疗处方可能是一个解决办法。

The NHS announced in October 2021 that it may do just that.

英国国家医疗服务体系在2021年10月宣布可能会这样做。

But Catherine Maclean, one of the San Francisco study's authors, warns that this could also have unintended consequences in America.

但旧金山一份研究报告的作者之一凯瑟琳·麦克林警告说，这也可能在美国造成意想不到的后果。

Requiring a prescription could push e-cigarette users and young adults towards regular cigarettes or illicit⁸ vaping products.

要求购买者提供处方可能会促使电子烟使用者和年轻人转向普通香烟或非法电子烟产品。

Limiting e-cigarettes could also spur drug use.

限制电子烟也可能刺激毒品的使用。

Raising the drinking age in the 1980s slightly increased marijuana smoking among young people.

20世纪80年代法定饮酒年龄的提高造成年轻人中吸食大麻的人数出现了小幅度上涨。

Raising the price of vaping could do the same, especially in states that have legalised the drug.

提高电子烟的价格也可能造成这一后果，特别是在毒品合法化的州。

Ms Maclean recommends stacking taxes so that the more harmful products are taxed at a higher rate than their less harmful substitutes.

麦克林建议增加税收，相比危害较小的替代品，对危害较大的产品征收更高的税。

Young people tend to be cash-strapped, so even a small tax increase could deter⁹ use.

年轻人往往手头拮据，因此即使是小幅增税也可能阻碍他们的购买。

Tighter regulation is also a possible answer - Britain and the European Union regulate the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes.

进行更严格的监管也是解决方案之一——英国和欧盟都对电子烟中的尼古丁含量进行监管。

"Policymakers need to think beyond a targeted outcome and think more broadly," says Ms Maclean.

麦克林表示：“政策制定者不仅仅需要考虑想要得到的结果，他们需要进行更广泛的思考。”