電子菸顯得比一般香菸安全的原因很簡單：人們不必點燃、吸食。

With the e-cigarettes, there is no burning tobacco to produce myriad new chemicals, including some 60 carcinogens.

電子菸不燃燒煙草，不會產生多種新的化學物質，其中包括大約60種致癌物。

But new research suggests some popular e-cigarettes get so hot they can produce a handful of the carcinogens found in cigarettes and at similar levels.

然而最新研究顯示，部分受歡迎的電子菸會熱到可能產生一般香菸釋出的多種致癌物質，濃度也類似。

A study to be published this month in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research found the high-power e-cigarettes known as tank systems produce formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, along with the nicotine-laced vapor that their users inhale. The toxin is formed when liquid nicotine and other e-cigarette ingredients are subjected to high temperatures. A second study points to similar findings.

根據即將發表在本月份 「尼古丁與菸草研究」期刊的一項研究報告，有菸液槽的強力電子菸除了釋出使用者吸入的含尼古丁煙霧，還會產生已知致癌物甲醛。液態尼古丁與電子菸的其他成分接觸高溫就會產生毒素。另一研究也有類似發現。

The long-term effects of inhaling nicotine vapor are unclear, but there is no evidence it causes cancer or heart disease. Many researchers say e-cigarettes will turn out to be much safer than cigarettes.

吸入尼古丁煙霧長期影響仍然不明，但並無證據顯示會引起癌症或心臟病。許多研究人員說，電子菸會比一般香菸安全得多。

Both studies focused on tank systems, fast-growing members of the e-cigarette family. Unlike disposable e-cigarettes, which tend to mimic the look and feel of conventional smokes, tank systems tend to be larger devices heated with batteries that can vary in voltage . Users fill them with liquid nicotine, or e-liquid, and the devices vaporize that fluid quickly, producing thick plumes and a big nicotine kick. Maciej L.

兩項研究都以菸液槽型電子菸為重點。它是電子菸家族中成長快速的成員。不同於模仿傳統香菸形狀與感覺的拋棄式電子菸，菸液槽型是比較大的裝置，以伏特數不同的電池加熱。使用者填入尼古丁液態，裝置很快便讓它蒸發，產生濃厚的煙霧及強烈的尼古丁興奮感。

Goniewicz of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, who led the first study, said people using the systems “want more nicotine, but the problem is they’re also getting more toxicants.”

紐約州水牛城羅斯威爾公園癌症研究所的戈涅維契主持第一項研究。他說，使用這種裝置的人想「獲得更多尼古丁。問題是，他們同時也吸入更多毒素」。

The second study focus ed on how people use the devices to create more potent vapor by dripping fluid onto the heating element . The e-liquid heats with such intensity that formaldehyde and related toxins “approach the concentration in cigarettes,” said Dr. Alan Shihadeh of American University in Beirut, who led the research.

第二項研究的重點是，瞭解人們如何把液體滴到加熱組件上之後，創造更有力的煙霧。主持研究的貝魯特美利堅大學謝哈迪赫博士說，菸液高溫加熱使甲醛與相關毒素「濃度接近一般香菸」。

Both studies show intense heat can change the composition of e-liquids, creating new chemicals. The researchers said the chemical reactions apply not only to the liquid nicotine, but also to two other crucial ingredients in most e-liquids: vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol.

兩項研究都顯示，高熱可能改變菸液成分，產生新的化學物質。研究人員說，產生化學反應的不只是液態尼古丁，還有多數菸液的另二種重要成分：植物甘油與丙二醇。

The Roswell study found that when battery voltage increased to 4.8 volts from 3.2 volts, toxin levels increased markedly.

“This finding suggests that in certain conditions, E.C.s might expose their users to the same or even higher levels of carcinogenic formaldehyde as tobacco smoke,” the Roswell study says.

羅斯威爾研究所的研究還發現，如果電池電壓由3.2伏特提高至4.8伏特，毒素濃度會大增。報告中說：「這項發現意味，某些情況下，電子菸使用者可能接觸濃度與一般香菸相同，甚至更高的致癌物甲醛。」

Traditional cigarettes create dozens of carcinogens, said Prue Talbot of the University of California, Riverside . E-cigarettes do not tend to generate enough heat to create combustion, a big reason health officials predict they will prove less harmful than cigarettes.

河濱加州大學的陶伯特說，傳統香菸會釋出數十種致癌物。電子菸產生的熱通常不至於引起燃燒。衛生官員據此認為，電子菸的危害性低於一般香菸。

Dr. Shihadeh said, “If I was in a torture chamber and you said I had to puff on something, I’d choose an e-cigarette over a regular cigarette.”

謝哈迪赫說：「如果我被送進刑求室，你說我必須吸吐什麼，我一定選電子菸，不要一般香菸。」

The new tank systems are exploding in popularity and reshaping the market , said Bonnie Herzog, an industry analyst . She expects sales in the United States “in excess of $2 billion” a year.

業界分析師芭妮•赫佐格說，菸液槽型電子菸突然爆紅，而且正在改變市場。她認為美國市場年銷售額會「超過20億美元」。

Experts say tank systems appeal to young people who like products that can be customized with flavors and power, and are comfortable with fast-changing technology.

專家說，菸液槽型電子菸對喜歡口味與強度可客製化的產品、而且樂見科技推陳出新的年輕人，特具吸引力。

“Technology is way ahead of the science,” Dr. Shihadeh said. “We’re creating this stuff, and we don’t understand the implications.”

謝哈迪赫說：「科技產品遠遠走在科學前面。我們創造這種東西，卻不知箇中意義。」

如果賈伯斯仍然健在，是否應該坐牢？

That’s the question being debated in antitrust circles after revelations that Mr. Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, who is deeply revered in Silicon Valley, was the driving force in a conspiracy to prevent competitors from poaching employees.

賈伯斯是蘋果公司的創辦人之一，在矽谷備受敬重。在他曾經密謀阻止競爭者挖角的內幕曝光後，反托辣斯圈子最近開始討論這個問題。

According to the first paragraph of the Sherman Antitrust Act, every “conspiracy, in restraint of commerce” is illegal.

薛爾曼反托辣斯法第一段載明，凡「有礙貿易」之陰謀均屬違法。

Mr. Jobs “was a walking antitrust violation,” said Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law and an expert in antitrust law. “I’m simply astounded by the risks he seemed willing to take.”

愛阿華大學法學院教授、反托辣斯法專家賀芬坎普說，賈伯斯「是違反反托辣斯法活生生的例子。他甘冒這麼大的風險令我驚訝」。

The anti-poaching pact was not Mr. Jobs’s only post-mortem brush with the law. His behavior was at the center of an e-book price-fixing conspiracy with major publishers. After a lengthy trial, a federal judge ruled last summer that “Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy.” (Apple has appealed . The publishers all settled the case.)

反挖角協議不是賈伯斯死後與法律過招的唯一案例。他的行為還是與幾家主要出版商合謀為電子書聯合訂價陰謀的核心。經過漫長審理後，聯邦法官去夏裁定，「在促成及執行這項陰謀的過程中，蘋果公司扮演主要的角色」（蘋果公司已上訴，出版商則皆已同意庭外和解）。

Mr. Jobs also figured prominently in the options backdating scandal that rocked Silicon Valley eight years ago. Thousands of options were backdated at both Apple and the computer animation studio Pixar, where Mr. Jobs was also chief executive, to increase the value of option grants to senior employees. An investigation by Apple’s lawyers cleared Mr. Jobs of wrongdoing, saying he didn’t understand the accounting implications. But it concluded that he “was aware or recommended the selection of some favorable grant dates.” Mr. Jobs himself received options on 7.5 million shares, which were backdated to immediately bolster their value by over $20 million. Apple admitted that the minutes of the October board meeting where the grant was supposedly approved were fabricated, that no such meeting had occurred and that the options were actually granted in December.

賈伯斯還在8年前震驚矽谷的股票選擇權追溯醜聞中扮演要角。蘋果與同樣由賈伯斯任執行長的皮克斯動畫工作室，共有數以千計的股票選擇權被追溯，以提高資深員工股票選擇權的價值。蘋果的律師調查後認為賈伯斯並未違法，因為他不知道其中的會計意義。不過他們也說，他「知曉或曾經建議選擇某些有利的授予日期」。賈伯斯本人取得750萬股的選擇權，日期追溯後，價值立刻提高逾二千萬美元。蘋果承認，批准授予的10月董事會紀錄出於捏造，該次會議並未召開，選擇權其實是12月授予。

Five executives of other companies went to prison for backdating options, but Mr. Jobs was never charged. (Other Apple executives eventually settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges and left the company.)

有五名其他公司的高級主管因為追溯選擇權而入獄，賈伯斯則從未遭起訴（蘋果的其他高級主管最後與聯邦證券交易委員會達成和解，並離開蘋果）。

Mr. Jobs “always believed that the rules that applied to ordinary people didn’t apply to him,” said Walter Isaacson, author of the best-selling biography “Steve Jobs .”

暢銷傳記「史迪夫•賈伯斯」作者艾薩克森說，賈伯斯「始終認為，適用於常人的規則不適用於他」。

“That was Steve’s genius but also his oddness,” he said. “He believed he could bend the laws of physics and distort reality. That allowed him to do some amazing things, but also led him to push the envelope.”

他說：「那是史迪夫的天賦，也是他古怪之處。他自認可以扭轉物理學定律及扭曲事實。這讓他做出些驚人的事，同時挑戰極限。」

Brian Lam, a technology reporter and founder of the Wirecutter website, said that a few antitrust issues hadn’t dimmed Mr. Jobs’s luster in Silicon Valley. Mr. Jobs “didn’t pay much attention to convention, and now more than ever, that’s the culture of tech companies.”

科技記者兼Wirecutter網站創辦人藍姆表示，幾宗反托辣斯案件無損於賈伯斯在矽谷享有的崇高地位，賈伯斯「不太注意常規。這是科技業界的文化，而且現在更甚於以往」。

There’s no way of knowing whether Mr. Jobs would have faced charges . Given his popularity, prosecutors might not have wanted to risk a trial, Mr. Hovenkamp noted. Mr. Jobs probably came closest to being prosecuted in the backdating scandal, but by then he was already known to have cancer.

無從確定賈伯斯生前是否有可能被起訴。賀芬坎普說，他名氣太大，檢方可能不願冒險起訴他。賈伯斯涉及追溯醜聞是最可能遭到起訴的情況，然而他當時已經罹癌。

But why would Mr. Jobs have tried to skirt the law, given how much was at stake? Mr. Isaacson noted that “over and over, people referred to his reality distortion field.” Mr. Isaacson added, “The rules just didn’t apply to him, whether he was getting a license plate that let him use handicapped parking or building products that people said weren’t possible. Most of the time he was right, and he got away with it.”

明知茲事體大，賈伯斯為何還是游走法律邊緣？伊薩克森說：「人們不斷提到他扭曲事實的那一面」。他說：「無論是取得讓他能使用身障停車位的牌照，或者設計人們認為不可能的產品，規則就是對他不適用。多數時候，他是對的，而且總能如願以償。」