Federal officials identify ‘chemical of concern’ linked to 39 vaping deaths
By Gabrielle Fonrouge , New York Post, November 8, 2019
Vaping, AP photo.
Federal health officials are finally getting closer to figuring out the cause behind at least 39 vaping deaths and more than two thousand illnesses, pointing their finger Friday at vitamin E acetate as the “chemical of concern” behind the nationwide vaping crisis.
The Centers for Disease Control said the additive, which can cause serious lung injury when vaped, was found in 29 patients from ten different states who were all diagnosed with EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury.
“These findings provide direct evidence of vitamin E acetate at the primary site of injury among EVALI patients and are consistent with FDA product testing and media reports of state public health laboratory testing documenting vitamin E acetate in product samples used by EVALI patients,” the CDC said in a news release.
“This is the first time that we have detected a potential chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with these lung injuries.”
Out of the 29 samples, 82% contained THC and 62% contained nicotine, the CDC said. It is not clear if the popular e-cigarette brand Juul was found to have vitamin E in their products and many of the patients reported using both nicotine and THC vapes simultaneously.
State health officials in New York pointed their finger at vitamin E acetate back in September when the substance was found in nearly every patient that reported a vaping lung injury.
Patients that vape vitamin E, a typically harmless substance when applied topically, can feel a range of symptoms from nausea and digestive issues to a complete lung collapse.
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