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Smoking and drinking tend to go together. Teenagers who drink are twice as likely as others to light up. One study found that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 in America reduced smoking among the affected age group.
吸烟和喝酒往往如影随形。饮酒的青少年吸烟的可能性是其他人的两倍。一项研究发现，在美国，将饮酒年龄从18岁提高到21岁可以减少该年龄段青少年的吸烟率。
It works in reverse, too. Raising taxes on cigarettes has been found to taper teenage drinking. So surely lawmakers should rush to implement an e-cigarette tax? The answer is not so simple.
反过来（限制吸烟）也同样可以（对减少饮酒）起到作用，人们发现提高香烟税能够降低青少年饮酒率。那么，果然立法者应该抓紧实行电子烟税吗？答案并没有那么简单。
Many smokers use e-cigarettes to reduce harm from their habit. Some also use e-cigarettes to quit traditional cigarettes.
许多烟民借助电子烟来减少抽烟带来的危害，还有些人则利用电子烟来戒掉传统香烟。
A review of 78 studies mostly from America, Britain and Italy found that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months when using nicotine e-cigarettes compared with other methods.
一项针对主要来自美国、英国和意大利的78项研究的文献综述发现，与通过其他途径戒烟的人相比，吸食含有尼古丁的电子烟的人坚持戒烟六个月以上的可能性更高。
England’s National Health Service (NHS) encourages e-cigarette use for quitting smoking. A tax increase on e-cigarettes, or an outright ban, could encourage smokers to switch to traditional cigarettes.
英国国民医疗服务体系（NHS）鼓励人们用电子烟来戒烟。电子烟增税或彻底禁售可能会促使烟民转战传统香烟。
A separate American study found that a $1 increase in e-cigarette taxes reduced daily vaping but increased cigarette smoking in young adults. A good e-cigarette policy would discourage young adults while encouraging cigarette smokers to use them for quitting.
一项美国的独立研究发现，虽然电子烟增税1美元会减少年轻人的日常吸烟量，但吸烟总人数却会增加。一项良好的电子烟政策不仅应该劝诫年轻人远离电子烟，还应该鼓励烟民借助电子烟来戒烟。
Requiring a prescription for e-cigarettes could help. The NHS announced in October 2021 that it may do just that. But Catherine Maclean, one of the San Francisco study’s authors, warns that this could also have unintended consequences in America.
要求电子烟凭借处方进行购买可能是一个解决办法。英国国家医疗服务体系在2021年10月宣布可能会采取这种方式。但旧金山一份研究报告的作者之一凯瑟琳·麦克林警告说，这也可能在美国造成意想不到的后果。
Requiring a prescription could push e-cigarette users and young adults towards regular cigarettes or illicit vaping products. Limiting e-cigarettes could also spur drug use.
要求凭借处方购买电子烟可能会促使电子烟烟民和年轻人转向普通香烟或非法电子烟产品。限制电子烟也可能刺激毒品的使用。
Raising the drinking age in the 1980s slightly increased marijuana smoking among young people. Raising the price of vaping could do the same, especially in states that have legalised the drug.
20世纪80年代提高法定饮酒年龄的举措让吸食大麻的年轻人数量小幅上涨。电子烟涨价也可能造成同样的后果，在毒品合法化的州更是如此。
Ms Maclean recommends stacking taxes so that the more harmful products are taxed at a higher rate than their less harmful substitutes. Young people tend to be cash-strapped, so even a small tax increase could deter use.
麦克林女士建议增加税收，使危害较大的产品税率高于危害较小的替代品。年轻人往往囊中羞涩，因此即使是小幅增税也可能遏制他们对于高危产品的购买。
Tighter regulation is also a possible answer - Britain and the European Union regulate the amount of nicotine in e-cigarettes. “Policymakers need to think beyond a targeted outcome and think more broadly,” says Ms Maclean.
进行更严格的监管也是解决方案之一——英国和欧盟都对电子烟中的尼古丁含量进行监管。麦克林女士表示：“政策制定者不能仅仅局限于眼下的结果，而应该高瞻远瞩。”
