电子香烟是传统香烟的安全替代品吗？它能帮助成千上万的吸烟者戒烟吗？如果可以，那为什么反烟主义者反对电子香烟呢？通过这个短视频了解电子香烟的真相吧！

Because, incredibly, they make no substantial distinction between e-cigarettes and real cigarettes -- even though they are completely different products.难以置信的是，他们认为电子香烟和传统香烟并没有本质区别，尽管两者是完全不同的产品。

To begin with, e-cigarettes aren’t cigarettes. They contain no tobacco. Instead, a liquid containing nicotine derived from tobacco leaves is vaporized, and users of e-cigarettes inhale that vapor. Vapor, mind-you – not smoke.

首先，电子香烟不是烟。它不含烟草。相反，它蒸发一种提取自烟草叶的含有尼古丁的液体，电子香烟使用者吸入这种蒸汽。注意，是蒸汽不是烟雾。

This is significant because the real harm from tobacco comes from the combustion process, which releases hundreds of toxic compounds known as tar. Since e-cigarettes have no tobacco and no combustion, they release no tar. This makes them, according to Britain’s Department of Health, at least 95% less harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

这是至为重要的一点，因为传统香烟的真正危害来自于燃烧过程，这个过程释放了无数的有毒化合物 —— 焦油。电子香烟不含烟草，也没有燃烧过程，自然也不释放焦油。根据英国健康部门报道，这使它们的危害至少比传统香烟低 95%。

E-cigarettes do contain nicotine, an addictive drug. However, there is little evidence that nicotine alone is bad for you, making it similar to, say, caffeine--a drug used every day by millions of people.

电子香烟确实含有尼古丁这种成瘾的药物。然而，鲜有证据表明单独摄入尼古丁对人体有害，举个例子，就像咖啡因，一种数百万人每天都服用的药物。

Brad Rodu, an oral cancer specialist at the University of Louisville, put it this way: “I love coffee, and I’m sure I could get caffeine if I smoked my coffee beans…but I would be paying a much different price in overall health [if I did].”

布拉德·罗度，路易斯维尔大学的一位口腔癌专家，这样说道：“我爱喝咖啡，并且我确信如果我吸咖啡豆，我也可以摄取咖啡因，但是（如果这样做）我将会付很不一样的健康代价。”

In other words, when it comes to addictive substances like caffeine or nicotine, it isn’t the addictive substance that’s harmful; it’s how it’s delivered. As South African psychiatrist Mike Russell said about cigarettes: “[People] smoke for [the] nicotine, but they die from the tar.”

换句话说，当谈及咖啡因、尼古丁这样的成瘾物质，有害的不是成瘾物质本身，而是它传递的途径。正如南非的精神病专家迈克·罗素对香烟的评论：“（人们）为了尼古丁而吸烟，却死于焦油。”

And again, there’s no tar in e-cigarettes.再重复一遍，电子香烟不产生焦油。

Does this all mean e-cigarettes are completely safe? Of course not. Nothing is completely safe. E-cigarettes are a relatively new innovation so more research is needed, especially on long-term effects. There’s also a place for sensible regulation to ensure consumer safety.这意味着电子香烟绝对安全？当然不是。没什么是绝对安全的。电子香烟是比较新的发明，所以需要更多的研究，尤其是关于它的长期影响。也有必要进行合理的监管来确保消费者的安全。