Canadian producers stand by vape pen products
Licensed cannabis producers in Canada are standing by the safety of their upcoming vape pen products in the wake of a spate of lung illnesses that has left six dead and affected close to 500 people in 33 states south of the border.
Both cannabis and nicotine vape pens have been linked to the mysterious lung condition in the U.S., with one of the deaths reportedly tied to cannabis oil bought in a legal pot shop in Oregon, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
With a month to go before cannabis vape products become legal in Canada, major industry players who are positioning to supply the new market appear confident that Canada’s highly regulated legal cannabis system is equipped to ensure the safety of consumers who vape.
“Although it’s going to be critical for us to ensure that we look at all of our input materials and we get specific analysis to make sure there are no additional contaminants in the product, we must remember we are in a highly regulated environment in Canada where consumer safety comes first,” said Greg Engel, chief executive officer of Organigram Inc., a licensed producer that has a partnership with Pax Labs, an American vaping company that developed the popular Juul ecigarette.
“Legal extract product will be stringently tested for contaminants like heavy metals and solvents, which is not a process done with black market product,” said a statement from Quebec-based licensed producer HEXO Corp., which is also developing a line of cannabis vape pens.
There is an optic of safety in vaping, where consumers believe it is a safer option to combustion. That may change.
It is still unclear what exactly is causing hundreds of vapers to develop respiratory problems, but a statement released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pointed at vitamin E acetate — used as a suspension fluid in some cannabis vape pens — as the possible culprit.
“While the FDA does not have enough data to presently conclude that vitamin E acetate is the cause of the lung injury, the agency believes it is prudent to avoid inhaling this substance,” the FDA said.
Canopy Growth Corp’s vicepresident of communications, Jordan Sinclair, told the Post that “none of Canopy Growth’s vape devices will use vitamin E acetate.”
“There is still insufficient information to comment specifically on the media reports coming out of the U.S. but we believe that the mix of information underscores how important it is for governments to create regulated frameworks for cannabis vape products,” Sinclair added.
Engel, too, confirmed that Organigram will not be using vitamin E acetate as a vape pen ingredient.
Health Canada’s Tobacco and Vaping Products Act bans the use of “vitamins and colouring agents” in vaping products, although it is unclear if vitamin E acetate falls in that category. The department also insists that any ingredient in a vape pen besides flavouring agents, should be of a pharmaceutical quality.