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我是Eva💭
一个认真学英语的美少女😘
The Economist 经济学人精读 [35]
选自 December 23 2017 Leaders 社论版块
Safer smoking
Baccy to the future
America is taking the right approach to lower-risk smoking products
Smoking is a scourge. It is the leading preventable cause of cancer and kills over 7m people annually, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. In America, where it is linked to one death in five, it is estimated to cost more than $300bn a year in medical bills and lost productivity.Big Tobacco is doing nothing illegal by producing and marketing cigarettes. But the industry has an inglorious history of lying about the effects of cigarettes on human health. Al- though rates of smoking in much of the rich world are declining, tobacco firms fight measures, such as restrictions on advertising, that are designed to clamp down on cigarette use in emerging markets. No wonder people are cynical when they hear tobacco bosses evangelise about the benefits of new, lower-risk products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (see page 85). Even so, regulators weighing up how to treat safer alternatives to cigarettes are often too harsh.
The goal of policymakers ought to be harm-reduction. Too often, however, the focus is not on “reduction”, just on “harm”. E-cigarettes let users inhale nicotine without the toxicity that comes from burning tobacco. It seems clear that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than the ordinary sort; 95% less so, according to Public Health England, a government agency. There is scant evidence that they are a gateway drug that encourages non-smokers to start puffing and eventually to move on to more dangerous products. Britain’s Royal College of Physicians thinks they could help prevent deaths.
Plenty of regulators take a different tack. Brazil, Singapore and Thailand, among others, have banned e-cigarettes outright. In October New York became the 11th American state to ban e-cigarettes from workplaces, bars and restaurants. France has also imposed such a ban, “to protect the public”. The World Health Organisation’s anti-tobacco group in 2016 suggested that countries prohibit or restrict the use of e-cigarettes.
Heat, not light
These decisions are based on gaps in the evidence proving that the products are safe over long periods. Such concerns are not to be dismissed: more independent research into their effectsis needed. But a full auditing of their impact on health requires studies that will take many years. The damage from conventional cigarettes is happening now. It is perverse to ban a less harmful product like an e-cigarette from a market that allows the more dangerous version to be sold on every street. It is scarcely more sensible to treat every product as equally unhealthy when one is known to be lethal, and others are likely to be less harmful.
The same broad logic ought to apply to heat-not-burn (HNB) products, Big Tobacco’s latest wheeze. Conventional products involve the combustion of tobacco at very high temperatures, which produces many of the toxic substances in cigarette smoke. But because HNB products warm the tobacco rather than burn it, they are likely to harm smokers less than cigarettes do. An advisory body to the British government con-cluded this month that two HNB products already on the market in Britain, although unhealthy, contained between 50% and 90% fewer harmful or potentially harmful substances than cigarettes. They may also be better at converting hardcore smokers than e-cigarettes, since they look, feel and taste more like the real thing. HNB products should be treated more cautiously than e-cigarettes because they are less well under- stood and because they do contain tobacco, with its cargo of carcinogens. But they should be allowed on the market, and they should also be taxed less heavily than normal cigarettes.
It would be ideal if people did not smoke at all. But plenty choose to do so, despite the effect on their health. The right approach is to nudge them towards products that cause the least damage. America’s Food and Drug Administration is aiming for a sensible combination of stick and carrot. It is trying to make conventional cigarettes less addictive by forcing tobacco companies to cut nicotine levels. At the same time it is providing firms with a path to market for lower-risk smokes, the effects of which it will continue to review. It may give approval to Philip Morris to start selling IQOS, its HNB product, in early 2018. That will gall Big Tobacco’s many critics. But it is foolish and puritanical to withhold alternatives that could help save lives which would otherwise be lost.
20171224 738 words
The Economist 经济学人精读 [35]
选自 December 23 2017 Leaders 社论版块
Safer smoking[更安全的吸烟]
Baccy to the future[未来的烟草]
#Eva💭说#
全球每年因吸烟死亡的人数达7百多万，因此监管者仍对各类香烟进入新兴市场严格监管。已有像电子烟，热不烧香烟等香烟替代品出现，已经有研究表示电子香烟对吸烟危害的减少是显著的，但是热不烧香烟的的影响还没有足够的证据证明。监管者的目标主要是减少吸烟带来的伤害，然而，有太多监管者把目标只放在了伤害上，而忽视了减少。比如禁止吸用电子烟，热不烧香烟或其他香烟替代品，而不限制传统香烟的吸用，这样的做法没有考虑到任何香烟替代品与传统香烟的不同，对于实质性的减少吸烟带来的危害是见效甚微的。美国政府在香烟限制上的做法值得肯定，一方面尝试迫使烟草工厂减少尼古丁的含量以减少对传统香烟的成瘾问题，另一方面，同意香烟替代品（如热不烧香烟）在市场上售卖。
#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论#
#有输出才有进步#
看完这篇记住了了一个很形象的词“stick and carrot”胡萝卜和大棒，意思是软硬兼施。
America is taking the right approach to lower-risk smoking products[美国对低风险吸烟产品正在采取正确的措施]
Smoking is a scourge[祸害][吸烟是一个祸害]. It is the leading preventable cause of cancer and kills over 7m people annually, mostly in low- and middle-income countries[吸烟是主要的可预防的致癌因素，每年使7百万多人致死，这些人大多是来自中低收入国家]. In America, where it is linked to one death in five, it is estimated to cost more than $300bn a year in medical bills and lost productivity[在美国，每五个死亡的人中有一个与吸烟有关，据估计，每年在医疗费和生产力损失方面的花费超过三千亿美元].Big Tobacco[指大型烟草公司] is doing nothing illegal by producing and marketing cigarettes[Big Tobacco在香烟生产和营销方面没有做任何违法的事]. But the industry has an inglorious[不光彩的] history of lying about the effects of cigarettes on human health[但是，这个行业有着不光彩的历史，他们对香烟对人类健康的影响撒谎]. Although rates of smoking in much of the rich world are declining, tobacco firms fight measures, such as restrictions on advertising, that are designed to clamp down on[限制] cigarette use in emerging markets[尽管吸烟率在大多数富人中有所下降，烟草公司正在与限制烟草进入新兴市场的政策作斗争，比如限制烟草做广告]. No wonder people are cynical[嗤之以鼻的] when they hear tobacco bosses evangelise[宣扬] about the benefits of new, lower-risk products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products[难怪当人们听到烟草公司的老板们大肆宣扬像电子烟和热烟这样的新型低风险的产品时，对之嗤之以鼻]. Even so, regulators weighing up[就…权衡] how to treat safer alternatives to cigarettes are often too harsh[尽管这样，监管者在权衡怎样对待新的香烟替代品时通常也非常严厉].
The goal of policymakers ought to be harm-reduction[监管者的目标应该是减少伤害]. Too often, however, the focus is not on “reduction”, just on “harm”[然而，有太多时候目标没有落在“减少”上，而只落在“伤害”上]. E-cigarettes let users inhale nicotine without the toxicity that comes from burning tobacco[电子香烟可以让吸烟者吸入不含烟草燃烧产生的有毒物质的尼古丁]. It seems clear that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than the ordinary sort[电子香烟看上去显然比普通香烟伤害更少]; 95% less so, according to Public Health England, a government agency[根据英国公共卫生的一个政府机构，减少95%的伤害]. There is scant[少量的，不足的] evidence that they are a gateway drug[诱导性毒品] that encourages non-smokers to start puffing[吸烟] and eventually to move on to more dangerous products[证明电子烟是诱导性毒品，鼓励不吸烟者开始吸烟，并最终上手更危险的产品的证据不足]. Britain’s Royal College of Physicians thinks they could help prevent deaths[英国皇家医师学院认为电子烟可以帮助预防死亡].
Plenty of regulators take a different tack[其他的监管者采取不同的方法]. Brazil, Singapore and Thailand, among others, have banned e-cigarettes outright[彻底][其中，巴西，新加坡，泰国彻底禁止电子烟]. In October New York became the 11th American state to ban e-cigarettes from workplaces, bars and restaurants[在10月，纽约州成为了美国第11个在工作场所，酒吧和饭店禁止电子烟]. France has also imposed[推行，强制施行] such a ban, “to protect the public”[法国也强制施行了这样的禁令来“保护公众”]. The World Health Organisation’s anti-tobacco group in 2016 suggested that countries prohibit or restrict the use of e-cigarettes[2016年，世界卫生组织禁烟小组就曾建议禁止或限制电子烟的使用].
Heat, not light 加热，但是不点燃
These decisions are based on gaps in the evidence proving that the products are safe over long periods[这些决定是基于缺乏证据证明电子烟长期的安全性]. Such concerns are not to be dismissed[对…不予理会][对这样的担忧不应该置之不理]: more independent research into their effectsis needed[需要更多的独立研究去了解电子烟的影响]. But a full auditing of their impact on health requires studies that will take many years[但是，对于电子烟对健康影响全面审查需要花费很多年]. The damage from conventional cigarettes is happening now[传统香烟的危害正在发生]. It is perverse[有悖常理的] to ban a less harmful product like an e-cigarette from a market that allows the more dangerous version to be sold on every street[在一个允许更为危险的香烟在大街上售卖的市场中，禁止伤害更小的例如像电子烟一样的产品是有悖常理的]. It is scarcely[几乎不] more sensible[明智的] to treat every product as equally unhealthy when one is known to be lethal[致命的], and others are likely to be less harmful[当知道一个产品是致命的，另一个是有可能是伤害更少的，把这些产品当作是同等的不健康的想法是更加不明智的].
The same broad logic ought to apply to heat-not-burn[热不烧（香烟）] (HNB) products, Big Tobacco’s latest wheeze[（尤指为获利而想出的）巧计，计谋][同样的广义逻辑应该应用于热不烧产品，一个大型烟草公司最近推出的新产品]. Conventional products involve the combustion[燃烧] of tobacco at very high temperatures, which produces many of the toxic substances in cigarette smoke[传统的香烟在使用时是烟草高温燃烧，燃烧产生烟中有大量的有毒物质]. But because HNB products warm the tobacco rather than burn it, they are likely to harm smokers less than cigarettes do[但是，由于热不烧香烟加热烟草而不是燃烧烟草，因此对吸烟者的伤害可能比香烟少]. An advisory body[咨询机构] to the British government concluded this month that two HNB products already on the market in Britain, although unhealthy, contained between 50% and 90% fewer harmful or potentially harmful substances than cigarettes[一个咨询机构向英国政府总结说，这个月已经有两中热不烧产品出现在英国市场，尽管不健康，尽管比香烟含有50%-90%更少的或潜在的有害物质]. They may also be better at converting hardcore smokers[铁杆烟民] than e-cigarettes, since they look, feel and taste more like the real thing[真货][热不烧比电子香烟对擅长转换铁杆烟民，因为他们看起来，感觉起来，尝起来都更想是真的香烟]. HNB products should be treated more cautiously than e-cigarettes because they are less well understood and because they do contain tobacco, with its cargo[货物] of carcinogens[致癌物][对待热不烧产品应该更加谨慎，因为他们被了解的更少，也因为他们确实还又烟草，烟草是致癌物货仓]. But they should be allowed on the market, and they should also be taxed less heavily than normal cigarettes[但是，它们应该被允许进入市场，同时也应该比常规香烟征收更少的税].
It would be ideal if people did not smoke at all[最理想的情况是如果人们不吸烟]. But plenty choose to do so, despite the effect on their health[但是，有很多人选择吸烟，尽管对他们的健康有影响]. The right approach is to nudge[轻推] them towards products that cause the least damage[正确的方法是把他们推向伤害最小的产品]. America’s Food and Drug Administration is aiming for a sensible combination of stick and carrot[胡萝卜加大棒，软硬兼施][美国食品药物管理局正以软硬兼施的名字组合为目标]. It is trying to make conventional cigarettes less addictive by forcing tobacco companies to cut nicotine levels[它尝试迫使烟草工厂减少尼古丁的含量来减少对传统香烟的成瘾]. At the same time it is providing firms with a path to market for lower-risk smokes, the effects of which it will continue to review[同时，它为烟草公司提供了一条进入低风险吸烟市场的途径，低风险吸烟的影响还有待核实]. It may give approval to Philip Morris to start selling IQOS, its HNB product, in early 2018[这可能同意Philip Morris在2018年初开始售卖IQOS，也就是热不烧产品]. That will gall[激怒] Big Tobacco’s many critics[这将激怒大型烟草公司的众多批评家]. But it is foolish and puritanical[非常拘谨的] to withhold alternatives that could help save lives which would otherwise be lost[但是，如果拒绝可以挽救生命的替代商品，就可能会让人丧命，是非常不明智和拘谨的做法].
【scourge】/skɝːdʒ/
something or someone that causes great suffering or a lot of trouble
祸害，祸根；麻烦制造者
the scourge of war/poverty/drugs
战争之苦
Pop-up ads have been described as the scourge of the Internet.
【inglorious】/ɪnˈɡlɔːr.i.əs/
that people should be ashamed of because it is not fair or honest
不光彩的，可耻的
That country has a long, inglorious record of dealing harshly with political prisoners.
那个国家因为长期虐待政治犯而留下不光彩的记录。
【clamp down on】
to take strong action to stop or limit a harmful or unwanted activity
取缔；严禁；强行限制；压制
The government is clamping down on teenage drinking.
政府严禁青少年饮酒。
【cynical】/ˈsɪn.ɪ.kəl/
believing that people are only interested in themselves and are notsincere
愤世嫉俗的；怀疑人之真诚的；认为人皆自私的
She has a pretty cynical view of men.
她对男人的态度太过偏激。
I've always been deeply cynical about politicians.
我对政客们总是嗤之以鼻。
【evangelise】/ɪˈvæn.dʒə.laɪz/
to talk about how good you think something is
鼓吹，宣扬；大肆称许
I wish she would stop evangelizing about the virtues of free market economics.
我希望她不要再鼓吹利伯维尔场经济的好处了。
【weight sth up】
to think carefully about the advantages or disadvantages of asituation before making a decision
就…仔细考虑（利弊）；就…权衡
I'm weighing up my options before I decide to apply for the job.
我在权衡自己的选择，然后再决定是否要申请那份工作。
【scant】/skænt/
very little and not enough
少量的；不足的；贫乏的
He pays scant attention to the needs of his children.
他很少关注自己孩子的需求。
scant regard for the truth
不顾事实
【puff】
to smoke tobacco
吸（烟），抽（烟）
She was puffing on a cigarette at the time.
她当时正在吸烟。
He sat there, puffing away at a cigarette.
他坐在那里，抽着烟。
【outright】
completely or immediately
彻底，完全；立刻；当场
I think cigarette advertising should be banned outright.
我认为应该全面禁止香烟广告。
The driver and all three passengers were killed outright.
司机和车上全部3名乘客当场死亡。
【impose】
to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed orreceived
推行；强制实行
Very high taxes have recently been imposed on cigarettes.
最近对香烟开征很高的税。
Judges are imposing increasingly heavy fines for minor driving offences.
法官们对轻微的违章驾驶开始处以越来越重的罚款。
The council has imposed a ban on alcohol in the city parks.
市政会禁止在城市公园中饮酒。
【dismiss】
to decide that something or someone is not important and notworth considering
对…不予理会，摒弃，（从头脑中）去除
I think he'd dismissed me as an idiot within five minutes of meeting me.
我认为他和我见面5分钟后就把我归入了傻瓜之列。
Let's not just dismiss the idea before we've even thought about it.
我们还是别不假思索就把这种想法排除在外。
Just dismiss those thoughts from your mind - they're crazy and not worth thinkingabout.
别去管那些想法了——那些想法太离谱，不值得考虑。
【perverse】
strange and not what most people would expect or enjoy
有悖常理的；任性的
Jack was being perverse and refusing to agree with anything we said.
杰克一意孤行，我们说什么他都反对。
She took a perverse pleasure in hearing that her sister was getting divorced.
有悖常理的是，她听说她妹妹要离婚时竟幸灾乐祸。
【scarcely】
almost not
勉强；几乎不
I was scarcely able to move my arm after the accident.
那场事故以后，我的手臂几乎不能动了。
I could scarcely believe it when she said she wanted to marry me.
当她说想要跟我结婚时，我简直不能相信。
【lethal】
able to cause or causing death; extremely dangerous
致命的；极其危险的
Three minutes after the fire started, the house was full of lethal fumes.
起火3分钟后，房子里充满了致命的毒气。
In the car the police found guns, knives, and other lethal weapons (= weapons that can kill).
警察在车里找到了枪支、刀具及其他一些凶器。
A 59-year-old man was executed by lethal injection (= by having a poisonoussubstance put into his body) this morning.
今晨一位59岁的男性罪犯被执行注射死刑。
informal That combination of tiredness and alcohol is lethal (= has a very bad effect).
身体的疲劳加上酒精的作用会产生非常严重的后果。
【sensible】
based on or acting on good judgment and practical ideas or understanding
理智的；明智的
a sensible answer/approach/compromise/option
明智的回答／方法／和解／选择
a sensible person
理智的人
I think the sensible thing to do is call and ask for directions.
我觉得你去之前最好先打电话问好路。
It would be sensible to take an umbrella.
带把伞是明智的。
【wheeze】
uk old-fashioned informal
a clever and often unusual idea or plan,especially one that is intended to achieve a profit or some other advantage
（尤指为获利而想出的）巧计，计谋
As a part of their latest marketing wheeze they're giving away tickets for the concert.
So the public actually pay to feed the animals in the zoo? That seems like a good wheeze.
那么人们实际上是花钱来喂动物园里的动物？这听起来像个好主意。
I've had a wheeze - why don't we put both kids in the small room and that will leavethe back room free.
我有个主意——为什么不把两个孩子放在那间小一点的屋子里，这样后边的屋子就可以空出来了。
【the real thing】
the original, best, or most typical example of something
真货；最好的东西；典型的东西
It's a synthetic material that looks like the real thing.
这是一种人造材料，看上去像天然的。
【nudge】
to push something or someone gently, especially to push someone with your elbow (= the middle part of your arm where it bends) to attract the person's attention
（尤指用肘部）轻推，轻触
The children were giggling and nudging each other.
孩子们咯咯地笑着，互相推来推去。
He nudged the cat off the sofa so that he could sit down.
他把猫轻轻推下沙发，这样自己可以坐下来。
【stick and carrot】
a system in which you are rewarded for some actions and threatened with punishment for others
胡萝卜加大棒（政策）；软硬兼施，恩威并重
Sometimes I just have to resort to the carrot and stick approach with my children.
有时候我只能对我的孩子们采取软硬兼施的办法。
【gall】
to make someone feel annoyed
使恼怒，激怒
I think it galls him to take orders from a younger and less experienced colleague.
我想，要他去听命于一个比他年轻且资历比他浅的同事，他会很恼火。
【puritanical】
believing or involving the belief that it is important to work hard and control yourself, and that pleasure is wrong or unnecessary
清教主义的；宗教（或道德）上非常拘谨的
She is very puritanical about sex.
她在性问题上非常拘谨。
He rebelled against his puritanical upbringing.
他激烈反抗他所受的清教式管教。
20171224 738 words
更多英语阅读听力口语内容，请关注
微信公众号MyEnglishTrip
我是Eva💭
一个认真学英语的美少女😘
