Name: 電子菸能夠順利打進亞洲市場嗎？ (Why Asia Is the Next Battleground for Vaping | WSJ)
Uploaded: 2020-02-21T21:01:10.000Z
Duration: 5 min 20 s

The e-cigarette industry is becoming a tricky puzzle to solve.

電子菸產業逐漸變為一幅棘手、難解的拼圖。

American regulators are threatening to crack down as teenage vaping is on the rise.

隨著青少年抽電子菸的人數上升，美國監管機構揚言要對其進行打壓。

程度副詞

"We want to get to the bottom of a very unusual situation."

我們想要找到這個異常狀況的原因。

The Trump administration is considering a ban on fruity flavors popular with younger people and Congress approved raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products including e-cigarettes from 18 to 21.

川普政府考慮要禁止受到年輕人歡迎的水果口味，而國會同意將購買香菸 (包含電子菸) 的最低年齡從 18 歲改成 21 歲。

All these factors have now made the U.S. a lot more complicated market for e-cigarette companies like Juul Labs to figure out.

這些因素使美國成為一個更加複雜的市場，令各個電子菸公司，如 Juul Labs，難以解套。

And this crackdown is starting to have a ripple effect around the world.

而這股壓制開始在全世界掀起連鎖反應。

While companies scramble to adjust to possible tighter regulations in the U.S., they're also facing backlash from what could be their next biggest market.

當各公司在美國爭相適應可能更加嚴苛的規定時，他們也正面臨著來自有望成為下一個最大市場地區的衝擊。

Asia Pacific is the biggest smoking region in the world by far and therefore has the biggest potential in terms of consumer base for American and international e-cigarette companies.

亞太地區是全世界最大的吸菸區域，因此對美國和國際電子菸公司而言，其消費群擁有最大的潛力。

Juul's regional head of sales said the company viewed Asia as a high priority region.

Juul 的區域銷售主管表示，他們公司將亞洲視為高度優先的區域。

It's home to more than half the world's cigarette sales.

該地區佔全世界一半以上的香菸銷量。

But Asia itself is already complicated because of different regulatory regimes, smoking cultures, and socioeconomic levels.

但由於不同的監管制度、抽菸文化和社經程度，亞洲本身就已經很複雜。

The already complex puzzle is becoming even more challenging.

這個原本就很複雜的拼圖變得更加有挑戰性。

So what exactly are vaping companies up against?

所以電子菸公司究竟要面對什麼？

Vaping is a nascent industry in India and offers companies a huge opportunity.

電子菸在印度是全新的產業，因此提供各公司一個巨大的機會。

The country comes in second with the most number of tobacco users in the world.

該國的吸菸者數量在全球排名第二。

But vaping-related deaths in the U.S. has spooked Indian regulators.

然而在美國與電子菸相關的死亡數嚇到了印度的監管單位。

The deaths appear to be linked to vaping products containing THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana rather than traditional nicotine e-cigarettes.

這些死亡案例看似與含有四氫大麻酚 (THC) 的電子菸產品有關，它是一種大麻中的精神活性物質，而不是傳統的尼古丁電子菸。

The Health Ministry explicitly referenced what was happening in the U.S. in terms of vaping and vaping deaths and youth access and so on as a reason for implementing this prohibition.

衛生部明確地提及在美國有關吸電子菸、電子菸致死和青少年取得管道等狀況，作為實施這項禁令的原因。

In September, the Indian government announced an executive order banning the sale and production of nicotine e-cigarettes.

在九月，印度政府頒布一道行政命令，禁止販賣及製造尼古丁電子菸。

If caught, you could end up in prison for up to three years.

若是被抓到，你有可能要坐牢長達三年。

Experts say India is just one of many countries that are starting to point to growing health concerns in the U.S. over vaping.

專家表示許多國家開始將美國逐漸升高的健康隱憂指向吸電子菸，印度只是這些國家中的其一。

For instance, Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, who was once a heavy smoker himself, ordered a sweeping ban on public vaping.

例如，本身曾經是一位癮君子的菲律賓總統杜特蒂即下令，全面禁止在公共場合吸電子菸。

I am now ordering the law enforcement agencies to arrest anybody found vaping.

我即刻下令執法單位逮補任何被發現在吸電子菸的民眾。

Some countries like South Korea are more open to the vaping industry.

部分國家，例如南韓，對電子菸產業則比較開放。

It's mostly driven by younger consumers who are willing to embrace things that are cutting-edge and techy.

這主要是受到願意接受創新、有科技感事物的年輕消費者所驅動。

Younger adult consumers are looking for more sophisticated, more advanced, more technologically interesting ways of consuming nicotine in the same ways they're looking for those things in other aspects of their lives as well.

較年輕的消費者想尋求更有品味、更先進、更有科技感的有趣方式來攝取尼古丁，就像他們在生活中其他方面的追尋一樣。

There are two types of high-tech cigarette alternatives, devices that heat tobacco and e-cigarettes, which vaporize nicotine liquid.

市面上有兩種高科技香菸的選項，加熱菸草的裝置和將尼古丁液汽化的電子菸。

然而它們受到不同的規範限制。

South Korea and Japan are the world's two top markets for heated tobacco products.

南韓和日本是全世界兩大菸草加熱商品的市場。

In both countries Iqos, from the tobacco giant, Philip Morris, is sold in convenience stores, supermarkets and even airports.

在這兩國，由菸草公司大廠，菲利普莫里斯生產的 Iqos，在便利商店、超市甚至機場都有販售。

But it's a whole different story for nicotine liquid that's used in products like Juul.

但是像 Juul 使用尼古丁液的產品，情況就完全不一樣了。

In Japan nicotine liquid is considered a medical product so it's highly regulated.

在日本，尼古丁液被視為一種醫療產品，因此受到很嚴格的規範。

This has basically cordoned off Juul from entering the country.

這基本上使 Juul 無法進入該國。

South Korea has also advised people to stop using liquid e-cigarettes and is looking into investigating whether to ban sales.

南韓也建議民眾停止使用液體電子菸，並正在調查是否要禁止販賣。

Some countries are impervious to the crackdown.

有些國家則不受到壓制的影響。

Because entering China is going up against the country's state-owned company: China Tobacco.

因為進入中國要面對的是該國的國營公司：中國菸草。

Tobacco is economically very important to China almost to the point of being a strategic... a national strategic asset.

菸草在經濟上對中國而言非常重要，重要到能比擬一種戰略性...一種戰略性國家資產。

The domestic industry generates substantial revenue for local governments and ensures tens of millions of jobs in tobacco farmlands.

這項國內產業為地方政府產出了可觀的收益，並確保了數千萬人在菸田的工作。

International companies have been trying for years to sell traditional cigarettes in China but have had a hard time.

多年來國際公司不停嘗試要在中國境內販賣傳統香菸，但一直不太順利。

It won't be easy for e-cigarette makers either, who are already being urged by the Chinese government to stop selling and advertising e-cigarette products online.

這對電子菸製造商也不會太容易，尤其中國政府已經要求他們停止在網路上販售或宣傳電子菸商品。

And the biggest challenge in China might not be the state but actually Chinese smokers.

而且他們在中國會面臨到最大的挑戰可能不是政府，而是中國的吸菸者。

There are over 300 million smokers in China and about 7 million used e-cigarettes.

在中國有超過 3 億吸菸者，大約 700 萬人使用電子菸。

But that's less than 1% of China's total population.

但這甚至不到中國總人口的百分之 1。

For many Chinese smokers e-cigarettes are just too expensive compared to traditional cigarettes.

對許多中國的吸菸者而言，相比於傳統香菸，電子菸實在是太貴了。

A e-cig and refill pod can cost them US$40, while a pack of cigarettes on average costs about US$1.

一支電子菸和補充夾要價 40 美元，而一包香菸平均只要 1 美元。

Traditional cigarettes are also embedded in the country's ingrained smoking culture.

傳統香菸也深植在該國根深柢固的吸菸文化中。

It's very common to share cigarettes, to gift cigarette products, that sort of social sharing aspect of cigarette consumption is one that obviously is very difficult to replicate using an e-cigarette.

分享香菸、送香菸是非常普遍的，那種社交分享層面的香菸消費，很明顯是難以用電子菸複製的。

Smoking culture is strong across Asia and initiatives to get people to quit has not been as successful as in the U.S.

全亞洲的吸菸文化都非常強勁，而鼓勵人們戒菸的措施並不如在美國般成功。

Some academics say the tobacco smoking epidemic has gotten worse in Asia in the past few decades.

有些學者表示，過去數十年如傳染病般的吸菸現象在亞洲更加惡化。

Cracking the vaping market in Asia won't be about just adapting to regulations but first convincing smokers that they need to switch to an alternative.

打入亞洲的電子菸市場不會是只有適應規定而已，而是要先說服吸菸者，他們需要換成別的選項。

Whoever figures it out could win big but the puzzle won't be an easy one to solve.

先得出解答的人能夠大獲全勝，但這拼圖並沒有這麼好解開。