Tests solidify role of vitamin E in vaping injuries

Substance was found in fluid samples from injured patients

MINNEAPOLIS — Lab tests performed in Minnesota on illicit THC vaping products have solidified the role of vitamin E acetate in an outbreak of severe lung injuries among e-cigarette users across the nation this year.

The tests found vitamin E in vaping products seized by Minnesota law enforcement agencies in 2019, at the height of the outbreak — but not in products seized before the outbreak, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Tuesday.

The state’s findings were circulated nationally Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has monitored the outbreak and this year has reported 2,290 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries and 47 related deaths.

“We now have evidence of vitamin E acetate in the lungs of Minnesotans and in illicit THC products from Minnesota during the outbreak,” said Jan Malcolm, state health commissioner. “We have more work ahead, but every bit of evidence gets us closer to a resolution.”

Minnesota has reported 125 confirmed or probable cases, including three deaths, and multiple cases in which otherwise young, healthy people required intensive care and mechanical breathing assistance for treatment.

Vitamin E came under suspicion after it was discovered in fluid samples from injured patients’ lungs. Health officials have speculated that vitamin E was added to illicit vaping products this year as a thickener or to dilute the THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana.

State and federal health authorities now discourage the use of all illicit THC vaping products.