‘Chemical exposure’ linked to mysterious vaping disease

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T VAPE.

THE NUMBER OF Americans struck with mysterious, vaping-related lung illnesses is rising. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that it is aware of 450 possible cases of severe lung illnesses linked to vaping that are under investigation in 33 US states. Three deaths have been confirmed in connection with these illnesses. Many of the patients are teens or young adults. All patients reported using e-cigarettes, and many used the devices to vape marijuana.

So far, the cause of the illnesses is unknown; no single vaping device, product or substance has been tied to all of the cases, said Dr Dana Meaney-Delman, the manager of the CDC’s investigation. Officials believe “chemical exposure” is likely to be behind these illnesses, but much more information is needed, Meaney-Delman said.

The CDC announcement coincided with the release of several new reports on vapingrelated illnesses. One, published in The New England Journal Of Medicine, describes 53 patients from Wisconsin and Illinois who developed respiratory symptoms after vaping. Most of these patients were young, male and healthy prior to their illness. Patients had symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss. All of the patients had vaped within the prior three months, and 84 per cent reported vaping marijuana products.

The report seems to suggest that vapingrelated lung illnesses are a new phenomenon, and not something that simply went undetected in the past. The rate of monthly emergency room visits for severe lung illness in young adults was twice as high in June to August 2019 as the same months in 2018, the study found.

The CDC recommends that people consider not using e-cigarettes while the investigation is ongoing, and should not be used by children or adolescents, young adults, pregnant women or adults who currently don’t use tobacco products.