美国国家公共电台 NPR FDA To Banish Flavored E-Cigarettes To Combat Youth Vaping

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Federal health officials went to the White House today and got the go-ahead to banish¹ flavored vaping products from the market. The Food and Drug Administration action is aimed at an epidemic² of teenage vaping. NPR science correspondent Richard Harris reports.

RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE³: When these products came on the market, some people welcomed vaping as a potentially safer alternative to cigarettes. And while millions of adults have switched from cigarettes, vaping has also drawn⁴ in a new generation of nicotine⁵ addicts⁶. The latest survey of youth tobacco use shows this trend is continuing, says Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ALEX AZAR: We are seeing a continued surging of middle school and high school children using e-cigarettes, increasing frequency of their use and children being drawn in by flavored e-cigarette products, including menthol, bubblegum, mango, alcohol-flavored, et cetera.

HARRIS: Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Azar said he was directing the FDA to develop a plan that will ban these child-friendly flavors. Tobacco-flavored products would still be allowed, at least for now, he said, intended for adults as an alternative to cigarettes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AZAR: But if we find that children start surging into tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes or if we find marketing⁷ practices that target children and try to drive the market share into tobacco-flavored products, we'll engage in enforcement actions there also.

HARRIS: Health advocates said this step is long overdue⁸. Paul Billings at the American Lung Association says his group and others successfully sued the FDA to force regulation of vaping products. He suspects the recent outbreak of serious lung disease among vapers has finally put these problems in the spotlight⁹.

PAUL BILLINGS: And unfortunately, it's taken this crisis to finally prompt this action.

HARRIS: Health officials don't know whether flavored products have contributed to more than 450 cases of lung disease, including six deaths. But people who are addicted¹⁰ to nicotine and vaping devices put themselves at risk, he says. The FDA says it intends to finalize¹¹ its new policy in the coming weeks.

Richard Harris, NPR News.

1 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

6 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

11 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。