美国国家公共电台 NPR Wisconsin Woman And Her Sons Charged With Running Illegal Vaping Operation

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Public health officials say the number of people who have died or gotten sick after using e-cigarettes or other vaping products is rising. And they're still trying to figure out why. It has led to plenty of warnings about e-cigarettes and put a spotlight¹ on illegal vaping operations. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE²: I'm in Bristol, Wis., not far from the Illinois-Wisconsin border. And this is where law enforcement officials conducted a raid at one of the condos here in a winding³ subdivision of new homes and houses still under construction.

DAVID BETH: And they were able to uncover 31,000 loaded or filled cartridges⁴ with THC oil.

CORLEY: That's Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth. He's lined up some of the items from the drug bust⁵ on a table. In a state where marijuana is still illegal, he says they found mason jars full of THC oil, plus thousands more empty cartridges and small, colorful boxes that look like they were made for candy.

What do we have here?

BETH: We have Linwood Lemonade Clear.

CORLEY: All right, with a nice little lemon...

BETH: With a little lemon drop on it. Yeah.

CORLEY: Police arrested 20-year-old Tyler Huffhines and his 23-year-old brother Jacob Huffhines last month, charging them with running what police say is one of the country's largest illegal manufacturing vaping businesses. Their mother, 43-year-old Courtney Huffhines, was also arrested and is scheduled to appear in court later this week.

BETH: We had no clue that this was really an industry. We had no clue that this was happening here in Kenosha County. It caught us off guard big time.

CORLEY: That's the illegal end of it, but legal e-cigarette use has been on the rise all across the country. People inhale⁶ the aerosol⁷ created when the e-cigarette devices heat up liquid infused with nicotine⁸ or other substances. In some states, it's also legal to vape using cartridges filled with THC, the get-high ingredient of marijuana. Authorities suspect the culprit behind the rash of illnesses could be caused by illegal, street-level THC vaping products, like contaminated cannabis oil. Dr. Anne Schuchat with the Centers for Disease Control says there are now more than 1,000 vaping-related lung-injury cases.

ANNE SCHUCHAT: This condition is serious. And we continue to learn of additional deaths. There have been 18 deaths confirmed and reported to CDC from 15 states, and we know that additional deaths are under investigation⁹.

CORLEY: There haven't been any deaths in Wisconsin, but there have been 69 cases of vaping-related lung conditions. John Meiman, the chief medical officer at the state health department, says young adults and teenagers make up most of the state's cases.

JOHN MEIMAN: The main takeaway is that, you know, a large number of patients here in Wisconsin report using THC vaping products, particularly pre-filled cartridges.

CORLEY: And now the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are doubling down on warnings on even using legal e-cigarette products. That frustrates¹⁰ advocates of nicotine-based vaping, who argue the products are safer for smokers¹¹ than regular cigarettes. But the CDC suggests smokers use other methods to try to curb¹² their habit. The FDA also says people affected¹³ with lung illnesses have reported using both THC and nicotine-based products.

At Bono gas station and vape shop in Kenosha, display cases in the front of the store are packed full of vaping supplies. Twenty-five-year-old Hamza Abujad (ph) is a manager here. He says he's been keeping an eye on all the news because it could affect his bottom line.

HAMZA ABUJAD: And I own a, you know, distribution business, too, for vaping. It's - yeah, I mean, you have to keep up with it because anything could happen. And they can ban it, you know?

CORLEY: He says, so far, neither the controversy¹⁴ over vaping or the news about the Wisconsin arrest has affected business.

ABUJAD: Not really. People that don't vape, you know, now they just hate it more. But people that are actually vaping, they actually research it even more. They go deeper into it.

CORLEY: Federal and state health agencies are continuing the effort to solve the mystery behind the vaping-related illnesses. The CDC says so far, there is no sign the outbreak has reached its peak. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Kenosha, Wis.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAKEY INSPIRED'S "STREET DREAMS")

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 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。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

5 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

6 inhale   

v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)

参考例句：

• Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。
• They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

7 aerosol   

n.悬浮尘粒，气溶胶，烟雾剂，喷雾器

参考例句：

• They sprayed aerosol insect repellent into the faces of police.他们将喷雾驱虫剂喷在了警察的脸上。
• Aerosol particles affect visibility,climate,and our health and quality of life.气溶胶对大气能见度、气候变化以及人类健康等有重要影响。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 frustrates   

v.使不成功( frustrate的第三人称单数 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• What frustrates him is that there's too little money to spend on the project. 使他懊恼的是，可用于这个项目的资金太少。
• His trouble is that he frustrates much easily. 他的毛病是很容易泄气。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。