经济学人:烟草公司 勇敢的罢工(下)

 　　New regulations have not snuffed out tobacco firms, either. 新的规定也并没有消灭烟草公司。

　　Countries have passed a battery of laws to fight smoking, including taxes and bans on advertising¹ and on smoking in pubs. 各个国家已经通过了一系列关于禁烟的法律，包括税收措施，禁止吸烟的相关广告以及禁止在酒吧吸烟等。

　　Tobacco companies have fought these ferociously², suing countries such as Australia for prohibiting logos on cigarette packs, for example. 烟草公司强烈抵制这些措施，例如起诉澳大利亚等国家在香烟包装上标有禁止类标志。

　　But some rules had hidden benefits. 但有一些规则对他们有潜在的好处。

　　Bans on advertising lower marketing³ costs and make it harder for young upstarts to challenge established brands. 禁止广告的规定降低了营销成本，并且增大了想要建立新品牌的暴发户的创业难度。

　　Electronic cigarettes would seem another existential threat. 电子烟似乎是存在的另一个威胁。

　　But they increasingly appear to be an opportunity. 但也渐渐变成机遇。

　　Large tobacco firms are investing in such “reduced-risk” products, as they term them. 大的烟草公司正在创造一种“低危害香烟”的产品，正如他们的名字。

　　New requirements for e-cigarettes in Europe and America, finalised last year, may also hinder smaller companies’ ability to innovate⁴. 去年在欧洲和美国敲定了对电子烟的新要求，这也许阻碍了小公司发展的创新能力。

　　That could help Big Tobacco gain even greater market share: large firms may be the only ones with resources to navigate⁵ complex rules. 但也会帮助大的烟草公司获得更大的市场份额：大公司也许是唯一拥有资源来掌控复杂规则的人。

　　Companies are particularly bullish on new products that heat tobacco, without burning it. 企业尤其看好这些不用点燃但能加热烟草的新产品。

　　These gadgets⁶ are more satisfying to smokers⁷ than e-cigarettes, which contain nicotine⁸ but no tobacco, so may encourage more smokers to switch. 这些包含了尼古丁但没有烟草的产品对于吸烟者来说比电子烟更令人满意，因此也许会鼓励更多的吸烟者进行转变。

　　Cigarette executives claim that would be a health boon⁹: just heating tobacco avoids much of the nasty stuff that comes with combustion¹⁰. 烟草公司的高管认为这将是健康的福音：仅加热烟草避免了燃烧带来的危害。

　　Less encouraging for health is the prospect¹¹ that some smokers might switch to the new products rather than give up tobacco completely. 就健康而言不太乐观的前景是，一些吸烟者可能会转向使用新产品而不是完全放弃烟草。

　　For years companies have sold to a shrinking share of the population. 多年来，烟草公司的买方人数已经缩水。

　　If enough would-be quitters switch to “safer” cigarettes instead, firms could slow or even reverse what had seemed a permanent downward trend. 如果足够多想要戒烟的人转而购买更加“安全”的烟草，烟草公司可能会减缓甚至扭转那些看似永久的下降趋势。

　　Far from fading away, Big Tobacco might be on the verge¹² of a new boom. 大烟草不仅不会衰落，甚至可能会迎来繁荣。

　　If so, the company formed by BAT and Reynolds stands to gain, as it will combine the two firms’ research into reduced-risk products. 若是如此，英美烟草公司和雷诺兹组成的公司会是获利的一方，因为将结合两家公司进行低危害香烟的研发。

　　That will help it compete against Philip Morris, which has spent nearly twice as much on research as BAT. 并且这将有利于其与Philip Morris的竞争，后者已经在研发上花费近似英美烟草公司两倍的资金。

　　Philip Morris is now seeking approval in America to market its heated tobacco product as safer than traditional cigarettes;  Philip Morris 现在正在美国寻找批准来推销它的加热烟草产品，称其比传统香烟更安全；

　　it submitted its application to American regulators in December. 12月份，它们已经向美国监管者上交了相关申请。

　　The firm already reckons the product might add $1bn in profit by 2020. Philip Morris已经计算出：到2020年，这类产品将会为其增加10亿美元的收益。

　　Andre Calantzopoulos, Philip Morris’s chief executive, describes a possible future in which his giant cigarette company phases out cigarette sales. Andre Calantzopoulos，Philip Morris公司的首席执行官，形容了一种未来的可能性：他的烟草巨头企业将逐步淘汰零售香烟。

　　Many health advocates view such declarations sceptically. 许多健康生活的倡议者认为一些声明值得怀疑。

　　For now, combustible¹³ products still account for almost all of cigarette firms’ revenue. 现今，传统香烟仍旧占据香烟公司收益的全部。

　　And tobacco remains¹⁴ responsible for more than one in nine of all adult deaths. 并且，香烟依然是超过九分之一的人死亡的原因。

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 ferociously   

野蛮地，残忍地

参考例句：

• The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。
• At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

5 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

6 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

7 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

8 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

9 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

10 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

13 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。