VOA慢速英语2019 美国卫生署取消了由酒精行业资助的研究（在线收听）

US Health Agency Cancels Study Financed by Alcohol Industry

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活报道。

Alcoholic products – whether beer, wine or spirits – are sold almost everywhere around the world. Drinking alcohol is a part of daily life and considered socially acceptable in many, if not most, cultures.

几乎世界各地都在销售酒类产品，无论是啤酒、葡萄酒还是烈酒。饮酒是日常生活的一部分，即使不是大多数，但饮酒被许多文化视为社会认可。

However, some health experts warn that alcohol is a poison and can be bad for you. In 2018, the World Health Organization reported that alcohol kills about 3 million people worldwide each year. And The U.S. National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has called alcohol “the most regularly used addictive substance.”

然而，一些健康专家警告称，酒精是毒药，可能对人体有害。2018年，世界卫生组织报告称，每年有约300万人死于酒精。美国国家酗酒和药物依赖委员会则称酒精是“最常使用的成瘾物质”。

In 2016, people in the United States alone spent more than $220 billion on alcohol. That number comes from alcohol.org, a website operated by Recovery Brands. It is part of American Addiction Centers, which provides addiction treatment services.

2016年，仅美国公民的酒类花费就超过2200亿美元。这一数字由Recovery Brands运营的网站alcohol.org提供。该公司隶属于提供成瘾治疗服务的美国药物成瘾治疗中心。

The makers of alcoholic drinks spend billions of dollars a year on advertising. The alcohol industry also spends millions of dollars on health studies.

酒精饮品制造商每年在广告上花费数十亿美元。同时，制酒业会在健康研究上投资数百万美元。

And that has led to a controversy.

而这引发了争议。

A federal health agency in the United States canceled a study about alcohol’s effects on the human heart. It acted after three U.S. publications noted a possible conflict of interest because of financing for the study.

一家美国联邦卫生机构取消了一项研究，该研究旨在调查酒精对人类心脏的影响。取消这项研究的原因是，三家美国报刊指出，考虑到该研究的赞助，可能存在利益冲突。

The New York Times, STAT and WIRED reported that the alcohol industry gave millions of dollars to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for the study. They claimed that the industry provided $67 million of the $100 million needed.

纽约时报、STAT和WIRED报道称，制酒业为美国国家防止酒精滥用与酒精中毒研究所（简称NIAAA）赞助了数百万美元，以进行这项研究。他们称，研究需要1亿美元，而制酒业提供了6700万美元。

The NIAAA leads government efforts to reduce alcohol-related problems. The agency is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, or NIH.

NIAAA领导政府为减少酒精相关问题所做的工作。该机构隶属于美国国立卫生研究院（简称NIH）。

In a statement, NIH director Francis Collins said his agency “plans to end funding to the Moderate Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health (MACH) trial.” It also said the agency was concerned that the study was poorly designed.

美国国立卫生研究院主任弗朗西斯·柯林斯在声明中表示，他领导的机构“计划终结为适量饮酒与心血管健康（简称MACH）试验项目提供的赞助”。声明还指出，该机构担心这项研究设计不当。

The NIH noted the narrowness of the study. As its name suggests, the study was to investigate alcohol’s effects on the heart. NIH officials noted concerns that other health conditions, such as cancer, were not considered in connection with moderate alcohol use.

NIH指出了该研究的狭隘性。如研究名称所示，这项研究旨在调查酒精对心脏的影响。NIH官员指出的担忧是，癌症等其他疾病被认为与适量饮酒无关。

In addition to the design of the study, the NIH press statement expressed concern about the funding process. Investigations by the media found that NIAAA officials had asked the alcohol industry to provide money for the study. This may have violated NIH policies, something the government agency is investigating.

除了研究的设计以外，NIH发表的声明还表达了对募资过程的担心。媒体进行的调查发现，NIAAA官员让制酒业为这项研究提供资金。这可能违反了NIH的政策，目前NIH正在对此进行调查。

The agency said that all of these “irregularities” damaged the integrity of the research.

该机构表示，所有这些“违规情况”都损害了研究的完整性。

Reporters from STAT used a Freedom of Information Act request to examine emails to and from the NIAAA’s director, George Koob. They found that in one email, Koob wrote to an employee of an alcohol trade organization. In it, he promised good results for the alcohol industry from the now-canceled study.

STAT的报道利用信息自由法案要求对NIAAA主任乔治·科布收发的电邮进行检查。他们发现了一封科布写给一名酒精贸易组织员工的电邮。科布在电邮中承诺，制酒业能从这项已被取消的研究中得到好结果。

That man was Samir Zakhari of the Distilled Spirits Council. This trade organization represents alcohol companies. It often works very closely with government regulators and researchers.

这封电邮的收件人是美国蒸馏酒委员会的萨默尔·扎克哈里。这一贸易组织代表酒类企业。该组织经常与政府监管机构和研究人员密切联系。

Zakhari is a former director at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. After retiring from the government job, he went to work for the Distilled Spirits Council.

扎克哈里是前美国国家防止酒精滥用与酒精中毒研究所主任。从这一政府职位退休后，他前往美国蒸馏酒委员会工作。

Doctor David Jernigan directs the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He warns about the influence the alcohol industry has on public health research and policy.

大卫·杰尼根医生领导约翰霍普金斯大学彭博公共卫生学院的酒精营销与青年人中心（简称CAMY）。他对制酒业对公共卫生研究和政策的影响进行了警告。

Jernigan says laws dealing with alcohol production, sales and use have eased thanks to efforts by alcohol manufacturers. He adds that public health messages about alcohol often cannot compete with information from the alcohol industry.

杰尼根表示，在酒精制造商的努力下，涉及酒精生产、销售和使用的法律有所放宽。他还表示，有关酒精的公共卫生信息通常无法与来自制酒业的信息抗衡。

“Any health messaging about alcohol is completely overwhelmed by conservatively $3.5 billion to $4 billion in the U.S. alone of alcohol marketing. There’s just so much marketing for alcohol out there ... health messages can’t keep up.”

“保守来说，仅美国的酒类营销投入就有35亿至40亿美元，而任何有关酒精的公共卫生信息都会被这一数字压制。酒类营销太多了……健康信息无法抗衡。”

Take cancer, for example. Many people do not know there is a link between alcohol and cancer.

以癌症为例。许多人不知道酒精与癌症之间存在联系。

Since 2012, the WHO has recognized alcoholic products as a Group 1 carcinogen. WHO researchers explain that drinking alcohol can cause at least seven kinds of cancer:

世卫组织早在2012年就已将酒精产品列为1类致癌物。世卫组织研究员解释说，饮酒可能导致至少7种癌症：

bowel (colon and rectum),

肠癌（包括结肠癌和直肠癌）

breast

乳腺癌

esophagus

食道癌

larynx,

喉癌

liver,

肝癌

mouth and

口腔癌

upper throat.

上咽喉癌

However, health experts at the WHO find that many people have not heard about the link between alcohol and cancer. They say it is important to tell people that alcohol is a carcinogen and has been shown to increase one's risk of cancer.

然而，世卫组织的健康专家发现，许多人没有听说过酒精与癌症之间的联系。他们认为，重要的是要告知人们酒精是致癌物，而且有证据证明酒精会增加人们的患癌风险。

Some researchers are slow to claim a link between cancer and alcohol. Dr. Jernigan is not one of them. He talks about one cancer in particular – breast cancer. Women are especially at risk because of the way alcohol reacts with the female sex hormone estrogen.

一些研究人员迟迟未能声明癌症与酒精之间的联系。杰尼根医生并不是其中一员。他特别谈到了一种癌症——乳腺癌。酒精与女性激素雌激素产生反应的方式使女性面临的风险更高。

“Breast cancer is one of those alcohol-related consequences that many people are simply unaware of. In the U.S., 15% of cases of breast cancer are considered caused by alcohol use. And a third of these cases occur at consumption of less than a drink and half a day.”

“乳腺癌是其中一个与酒精有关的后果，但是许多人都没有意识到。在美国，15%的乳腺癌被认为是由酒精使用导致的。而三分之一的病例发生在半天饮酒不超过一杯的情况下。”

What can governments do?

政府能做什么？

The WHO has called on countries to enact effective measures to reduce the overall use of alcohol. These measures usually involve, what Dr. Jernigan calls, the “three A’s:” attractiveness, affordability and availability.

世卫组织呼吁各国制定有效措施来减少酒精的全面使用。杰尼根医生称，这些措施通常要考虑“三A”，即引诱力、可承受性及可用性。

He says research shows that taking steps to deal with these three A’s can cut down on alcohol problems.

他表示，研究显示，采取措施解决三A能减少酒精问题。

“There is a large body of research that shows that if you deal with the attractiveness by restricting the marketing; if you deal with the affordability by dealing with price and increasing alcohol taxes regularly; and if you deal with the physical availability -- you can reduce alcohol problems. It’s not rocket science. And there's a lot of science behind it.”

“大量研究证明，如果通过限制营销解决引诱、通过价格和定期上调酒税来解决可承受性、再解决物理可用性，那酒精问题就会减少。这不是复杂的事情。背后存在很多科学原理。”

However, he claims that U.S. health agencies with ties to the alcohol industry are not supporting those studies.

然而，他说与制酒业有联系的美国卫生机构并不支持这些研究。

“So, the larger point here is -- we know what needs to happen. What’s missing is political will. These are all things that require leadership, political leadership, in order to make them happen.”

“因此，更重要的是，我们知道需要进行什么工作。但现在缺少的是政治意愿。这一切都需要政治领导，然后才能付诸行动。”

Words in This Story

spirits – n. the liquid containing ethanol and water that is distilled from an alcoholic liquid or mash —often used in the plural form

addictive – adj. causing a strong and harmful need to regularly have or do something

controversy – n. argument that involves many people who strongly disagree about something : strong disagreement about something among a large group of people

irregularity – n. Something that is not usual or proper and that usually indicates dishonest behavior

integrity – n. the quality of being honest and fair

overwhelmed – adj. overcome by force or numbers

carcinogen – n. a substance or agent causing cancer

consequence – n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

consumption – n. the act of eating or drinking something

attractiveness – n. having the power or quality of drawing interest

affordability – n. having a cost that is not too high