电子香烟:烟草业巨头面临一大挑战

The latest wheeze

最新潮的吞云吐雾方式

BETTING against an industry with addicts for customers carries obvious risks. But these are uncertain times for Big Tobacco. Electronic cigarettes, once dismissed as a novelty, now pose a serious threat. E-cigarettes work by turning nicotine-infused liquid into vapour, which is then inhaled. A user is therefore said to be “vaping”, not smoking. More important, he or she is not inhaling all the noxious substances found in ordinary smokes.

和一个拥有忠诚客户群的行业打赌，显而易见这是在冒险。但对于烟草巨头而言，现在确实是一个不确定的时期。曾经被视为另类的电子香烟，如今却对其构成了巨大的威胁。电子烟的工作原理是将含有尼古丁的烟液雾化成可吸入人体的烟雾，因此吸电子烟的人通常被形容成“吸雾”，而不是吸烟。更重要的是，Ta们并不会吸入普通香烟中的全部有害物质。

In 2017 sales of e-cigarettes in America were between $300m and $500m, say analysts. That is paltry compared with the $80 billion-plus market for conventional cigarettes in the country. But e-cigarette sales doubled last year, and are expected to double again in 2013. Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo, a bank, believes sales of e-cigarettes could overtake sales of the normal sort within a decade.

有分析师称，2017年美国电子烟的销售额在3亿美元到5亿美元之间。与该国超过800亿美元的传统香烟市场相比，这个数字是微不足道的。但是，电子烟的销售额却比去年翻了一番，预计2013年将再次翻番。富国银行的 Bonnie Herzog认为，电子烟的销售额可能会在未来十年间超过传统香烟的销售额。

That may depend on how governments react. E-cigarettes are probably not good for you. One study showed that vaping decreased lung capacity. Yet a switch from smoking to vaping could improve public health, some say. E-cigarettes may help smokers quit more efficiently than nicotine patches or gum. This notion has not been thoroughly tested, however, so governments are wary.

这可能取决于政府将作何反应。电子烟可能不利于你的健康。一项研究表明，“吸雾”会减少肺活量。但有人认为，从吸烟转变到吸雾，可以改善公共卫生环境。电子烟可能会比尼古丁贴片或口香糖更快地帮助吸烟者戒掉烟瘾。不过，这一观点还没有经过全面验证，因此政府对此态度谨慎。

America has warned e-cigarette manufacturers not to make health claims. New tobacco guidelines in Europe would either tightly limit the nicotine content of e-cigarettes or force them to undergo clinical trials, as pharmaceutical products do. Elsewhere a patchwork of regulation exists, including outright bans in some countries.

美国已经警告电子烟制造商不要做出健康声明。欧洲新烟草准则将严格限制电子烟的尼古丁含量，或强迫制造商参照制药行业的做法进行临床测试。其他地区也有不同的监管规定，包括某些国家实施的完全禁令。

None of this has stopped companies from pitching to consumers. In America and Britain advertisements for e-cigarettes have appeared on television—forbidden territory for standard cigarettes. Craig Weiss, the head of NJOY, America’s top-selling brand of e-cigarettes, vows to make traditional ones obsolete. His ads crow: “Cigarettes, you’ve met your match.”

这一切都没能停止生产企业向消费者推销产品。美国和英国的电子烟广告已经在电视（传统香烟广告的禁区）上播出。NJOY是美国最畅销的电子烟品牌，该公司负责人Craig Weiss发誓要让传统香烟成为过去。他的广告词是“传统香烟，你遇上对手了。”

America’s tobacco giants do not think he is blowing smoke. Last year Lorillard (the maker of brands such as Newport and Kent) bought Blu, an e-cigarette maker, for $135m. NJOY is rumoured to be facing a takeover, perhaps by Altria (the maker of Marlboro). Foreign cigarette makers, such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, also have stakes in the industry, while other firms are working on their own vaporous offerings.

美国的烟草巨头并不认为他是在说空话。去年，纽宝 （Newport）和箭牌（Kent）等品牌的制造商罗瑞拉德烟草公司以1.35亿美元价格收购了电子烟制造商Blu。据传，NJOY也即将面临被万宝路品牌的制造商奥驰亚收购的命运。还有一些公司也在竭尽全力生产自己的电子香烟，同时，英美烟草、日本烟草国际等国外香烟制造商也加入到这一行业的竞争中。

E-cigarette executives dream of relegating traditional cigarettes to the ashtray of history. But as they struggle with taxes, patents and red tape, they may come to envy Big Tobacco’s deep pockets. More deals are likely, thrashed out no doubt in vapour-filled rooms.

电子烟企业的高管梦想着把传统香烟尘封在历史的“烟灰缸”中。但是当他们为纳税、专利以及繁琐的手续疲于奔命时，可能猛然会为烟草巨头们的雄厚财力而慨叹。更多的交易可能正在紧锣密鼓地进行着，那里必将烟雾缭绕。