電子煙引發疾病的罪魁禍首 化學污染物大綱

Chemical contaminant identified as 'key focus' of investigation into vaping illness

電子煙引發疾病的罪魁禍首-化學污染物

US officials are working to track down a chemical contaminant that is potentially behind a rash of lung illnesses connected to vaping.

美國官員正集中精力調查一種化學污染物，該污染物可能與電子煙引起的一系列肺部疾病相關。

The Washington Post reported that while the investigation was ongoing, some state investigators had identified a potential lead: oil derived from vitamin E. Vitamin E can be found in almonds and avocados, and the oil is commonly used in beauty products and nutritional supplements. But inhaling it could pose risks. It acts like a grease coating a vaper's lungs, Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl told the Post.

《華盛頓郵報》報道，雖然調查仍在繼續，但有些州的調查員已發現了一種潛在誘因：維生素E衍生的油。杏仁和牛油果都含有維生素E，而這種油經常被用於美容產品和營養補充劑中。但吸入這種油卻可能帶來風險。布爾茅爾學院的化學教授米歇爾·弗蘭克（Michelle Francl）對《華盛頓郵報》說道，吸入這種油就好像是給吸菸者的肺部抹上了一層油脂。

The Washington Post reported that officials conducting an investigation at the Food and Drug Administration found vitamin E acetate in cannabis products used by those with the illness. The substance was also present in almost all the cannabis products used by sick patients in New York where 34 people have come down with the severe lung illness.

《華盛頓郵報》報道，在美國食品和藥品管理局進行調查的官員發現，患者吸食的大麻產品中含有維生素E醋酸酯。在紐約吸食大麻的患者中，幾乎也都發現了這一物質，其中34人已患上嚴重肺病

Investigators were also looking into contaminants and bootleg vape products as potential culprits. On Thursday, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in a statement that vitamin E acetate became "a key focus" because it isn't an approved additive for medical marijuana vape samples and wasn't present in the nicotine products health authorities tested. The statement said vitamin E acetate was present in "very high levels" in "nearly all cannabis-containing samples" tested by the state.

調查人員認爲污染物和盜版電子煙產品也可能是潛在誘因。週四，紐約州的衛生專員霍華德·扎克爾（Howard Zucker）在一份聲明中說道：維生素E醋酸酯已成爲“重點調查對象”，因爲醫用大麻電子煙樣品成分中並未批准這一添加劑，且尼古丁產品衛生當局測試時也未曾檢測出。這份聲明還表示，維生素E醋酸酯在該州測試的“幾乎所有的大麻樣品”中“高劑量”存在。

But the investigation is far from over, and there are many other potential culprits out there. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a press release on September 6th saying that it is looking into a broad range of chemical contaminants since infectious disease has been ruled out. It clarified that no one substance — including vitamin E acetate — had been found in all of the 120 samples it has collected, and they were sent to the FDA for testing.

但調查遠未結束，潛在的‘罪魁禍首’還有很多。疾控中心於9月6日發佈的新聞稿中稱，中心正在調查各種化學污染物，因爲傳染病誘因已被排除。並澄清表示，在收集的所有120份樣品中，並未發現它們含有同一種物質——包括維生素E醋酸酯，現所有樣品已被送往食品和藥品管理局進行檢驗。

"Importantly, identifying any compounds present in the samples will be one piece of the puzzle but won't necessarily answer questions about causality, which makes our ongoing work critical," acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in the release.

“重要的是，識別樣品中存在的化合物只是問題的一部分，不一定能回答這一系列事件因果關係的各項問題，所以我們的工作至關重要，”食品和藥品管理局代理專員奈德·夏普萊斯（Ned Sharpless）在新聞稿中說道。