The Trump administration recently announced plans to ban flavoured vaping products
dead and more than 450 suffering from serious pulmonary disease across America, doctors and federal officials are trying to identify the cause of a mystery illness tied to e-cigarettes. Although the dead have largely been older, the wider outbreak is unusual in hitting young and otherwise healthy people. A recent study of 53 cases in Illinois and Wisconsin found the median age was just 19.
Much of the investigatory work is focused on agents that may have been added to illicit black-market cartridges containing cannabis extracts. On September 9th health officials in New York issued subpoenas to firms selling thickening agents, such as vitamin, used in black-market vaping products. Then on September 11th the Trump administration announced plans to ban flavoured vaping products.
Many of the patients have similar symptoms. Daniel Fox, a pulmonologist with WakeMed, a health-care system in North Carolina, says a small cluster of cases in his state had symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and fever. All had consumed cannabis by vaping. Dr Fox says the diagnosis was lipoid pneumonia, a rare non-infectious condition that occurs when oils or lipid-containing substances enter the lungs.
The current outbreak is acute and seems to be a reaction to something toxic found mostly in illicit products. But the news could not come at a worse time for vaping firms. They are under pressure for marketing e-cigarettes to children, enticing them with fruit flavours. The National Youth Tobacco Survey found that e-cigarette use among high-school pupils increased by 78% between 2017 and 2018, from 11.7% to 20.8%.
Although public concern over marketing and sales to children is understandable, vaping by adults trying to quit or reduce smoking needs to be put in perspective. E-cigarettes have been on the market around the world for over a decade and are used annually by about 11m adults in America. Legal, regulated vapes typically use a water-soluble solvent, as putting oil in the lungs is known to be dangerous.
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