这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
Cigarette smoking kills. That we know. So, manufacturers made electronic cigarettes as a safer smoking choice - safer than tobacco.
吸烟致命，这点我们都知道。因此，厂商生产了电子烟作为一种更安全的吸烟选择，它比烟草更安全。
E-cigarettes contain the drug nicotine like cigarettes. But they do not use tobacco. And you do not light them. They are powered by battery.
电子烟和香烟一样含有尼古丁药物，但它不使用烟草，你也无需点燃它。它们是由电池供电。
So, if e-cigarettes are so safe, why have poison control centers around the United States seen an increase in telephone calls about e-cigarette poisonings?
那么如果电子烟这么安全，为何美国各地的毒品控制中心接到越来越多关于电子烟中毒的电话？
The answer is children.
答案就是儿童。
Most of the calls are from people worried about children who have played with the devices. In the period of one month this year, the United States Centers for Disease Control say 215 people called the Center with e-cigarette concerns. More than half of these calls were for children ages five and younger. The devices apparently had made them sick.
这些来电大部分来自于担心儿童把玩这种设备的人们。美国疾病控制中心称，在今年某一个月，有215人致电该中心对电子烟表示担忧。这些来电中有一半以上是为了五岁及五岁以下儿童。该设备显然已经让他们生病。
Tim McAfee is director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. He says the problem is regulation. Meaning, the U.S. federal government does not control e-cigarettes even though they contain liquid nicotine. Mr. McAfee adds that liquid nicotine is a well-known danger.
蒂姆·迈克菲（Tim McAfee）是美国疾病预防控制中心吸烟和健康办公室的主任。他说，问题出在监管上。意思是说，美国联邦政府不控制电子香烟，即使它们含有液体尼古丁。迈克菲先生补充说，液态尼古丁是一种众所周知的危险物质。
"Nicotine historically has been used as a pesticide in the United States. And that's where we have really had for many, many decades significant poisonings when people got exposed to nicotine that was in liquid solutions."
他说，“历史上尼古丁在美国一直被用作杀虫剂，而正是因为这点，当人们暴露在液态尼古丁下发生了数十年的显著中毒。
Mr. McAfee explains that nicotine poisoning happens when the substance gets into the skin, gets into the eyes or is swallowed. Even a small amount, he says, can make a person sick.
迈克菲先生解释说，当尼古丁进入皮肤、眼睛或被吞食就会发生中毒。他说，即使是少量尼古丁也会使人生病。
Nicotine poisoning can cause stomach pain or a sense of unbalance. Headaches and seizures are also common signs of nicotine poisoning. And too much nicotine can kill.
尼古丁中毒会导致胃痛和不平衡感。头痛和癫痫发作也是尼古丁中毒的常见症状。而且大量尼古丁会致死。
Tim McAfee says e-cigarettes do not create the level of risk to people that tobacco products do. He notes that almost 500,000 Americans die each year from cigarettes.
迈克菲表示，电子烟产生的风险不及烟草制品。他指出，每年有近50万美国人死于香烟。
"So, cigarettes are the winner in that contest. And we don't really know what's going to happen with e-cigarettes."
他说，“因此在这场比赛上香烟是赢家。而我们不知道电子烟有何后果。”
E-cigarettes do not contain hundreds of harmful chemicals that are found in real cigarettes. So, the U.S. Surgeon General has suggested that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for adults trying end their tobacco use, or quit.
真正的香烟中发现了数百种有害化学物质，电子烟中不含这些。因此，美国外科医生一般建议，电子烟可能是试图戒烟的成人的一种有效工具。
But McAfee worries that teenagers may think electronic cigarettes are harmless. They could become addicted, or hooked, on the nicotine and then start smoking real cigarettes. In other words, he fears that for young people fake e-cigarettes could be a "gateway" to the real thing.
但迈克菲担心，青少年可能认为电子烟无害。他们可能会开始对尼古丁上瘾，然后开始吸真正的香烟。换句话说，他担心电子烟可能让年轻人走向真正的香烟。
And that's the Health Report. I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期健康报道的全部内容。我是安娜·马特奥（Anna Matteo）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)