美国国家公共电台 NPR Juul Is Behaving Differently In The Philippines Than In The U.S., Say Activists

 

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U.S. authorities have launched a slew¹ of investigations² in warning against Juul for marketing³ to teens and claiming that e-cigarettes are safe. But Juul has also recently expanded overseas and into some lower-income countries, like the Philippines, that don't have as many regulations. Health advocates there worry that Juul will make up for the clampdown in the U.S. by ramping⁴ up what they say are questionable⁵ practices. NPR's Nurith Aizenman reports.

NURITH AIZENMAN, BYLINE⁶: Juul launched in the Philippines this past June. Maria Encarnita Limpin says, overnight, the product was popping up in shops all over the capital Manila.

MARIA ENCARNITA LIMPIN: It's really, really alarming because it's like they mushroomed.

AIZENMAN: Limpin is a doctor specializing in lung disease and director of a nonprofit that has helped push through rules preventing the marketing and sale of cigarettes to minors⁷ in the Philippines. So she was horrified⁸ to see how visible Juul's vaporizers now are.

LIMPIN: You can actually see them in almost any type of stores.

AIZENMAN: At one of Manila's biggest convenience chains, she says, the new Juul displays are right at the entrance. Then, there was the placement of a Juul promotional kiosk.

LIMPIN: Yeah. So it was very near Baskin-Robbins, you know, that famous ice cream company.

AIZENMAN: And she says just like Baskin-Robbins, in its Philippine stores, Juul is offering an assortment⁹ of flavors...

LIMPIN: Mint flavor, mango flavor.

AIZENMAN: ...That seem tailor-made to appeal to teens.

Shane MacGuill studies the tobacco industry for the market research firm Euromonitor International. He says when it comes to international expansion...

SHANE MACGUILL: I think that's an important part of the business strategy for Juul.

AIZENMAN: The company is already in 20 countries, pretty much all of them wealthy. But this spring, Juul made its first foray into less well-off nations with its entry into not just the Philippines, but Indonesia. And MacGuill says Juul has been laying the groundwork to launch in many more.

MACGUILL: If you look at where the majority of tobacco and nicotine¹⁰ consumption takes place globally, it is in lower-middle-income markets.

AIZENMAN: MacGuill says, for now, most consumers in those less well-off countries can't afford Juul products. But he says Juul has been banking¹¹ on the possibility that, eventually, incomes in those countries will rise.

MACGUILL: The strategy was really built around making sure that the brand was in a position to access that sort of potential growth.

AIZENMAN: And with Juul facing new scrutiny¹² in the U.S., Limpin, the health advocate from the Philippines, worries that over the long term, Juul will end up shifting its focus to countries like hers. Already, she says, the company is behaving very differently in the Philippines compared to the U.S.

LIMPIN: They are making the Philippines as their dumping ground.

AIZENMAN: For instance, in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether Juul's fruit and other nontobacco flavors constitute illegal marketing to kids and should be banned. In response, Juul has already voluntarily pulled these flavors from U.S. stores, but not the ones in the Philippines. Limpin says in her country...

LIMPIN: There's really no good law that will protect us from these kinds of tactics.

AIZENMAN: Also at issue, the messages Juul puts out about the safety of its product. Dr. Albert Rizzo is chief medical officer with the American Lung Association. He notes that vaping involves chemicals.

ALBERT RIZZO: Some of these chemicals are carcinogens very similar to the ones that are in regular cigarettes - now, maybe lower in content and lower in number.

AIZENMAN: But vaping is still a pretty new phenomenon.

RIZZO: So we really don't know what mid-to-long-term effects inhalation of these chemicals would lead to.

AIZENMAN: That means under U.S. law, Juul is prohibited from describing its product as safe or even saying it's safer than smoking. Last month, the FDA warned Juul that some of its marketing does just that, and the agency ordered Juul to stop immediately. But the company faces no such constraints¹³ in the Philippines. And Limpin says when her son approached a Juul kiosk in Manila, the salesperson¹⁴ told him that using Juul is safer than smoking because it won't cause cancer and no mention was made of any risks from vaping.

LIMPIN: They're actually marketing it like it's not going to cause any problems.

AIZENMAN: NPR asked officials at Juul why the company's practices around safety messaging and flavors appear to be different in the two countries. In a statement, Juul officials noted¹⁵ that the company recently appointed a new CEO. And they said both he and, quote, "the entire Juul Labs leadership team is continuing a broad review of the company's practices and policies to ensure alignment¹⁶ with its aim of responsible leadership within the industry."

Nurith Aizenman, NPR News.

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1 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

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 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

5 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

9 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

10 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。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

13 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 salesperson   

n.售货员，营业员，店员

参考例句：

• A salesperson works in a shop.售货员在商店工作。
• Vanessa is a salesperson in a woman's wear department.凡妮莎是女装部的售货员。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。