Vaping Illnesses Decline

ATLANTA—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is seeing a decline in the number of new vaping-related illnesses and is confident that the “vast majority” of recent lung injury cases related to e-cigarette use can be linked to illicit vape liquids containing vitamin E acetate, reports New Atlas. Separately, federal officials have seized 44 websites selling illicit THC vape cartridges.

In June, hospital emergency rooms across the United States began reporting cases of an unidentified lung illness. The only common factor in these cases was that all subjects reported e-cigarette use in the months leading up to the hospitalization.

The illness was eventually named EVALI: e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury. Numerous theories for EVALI were considered; however, no single vape product unified the various cases around the country. As of late December, the CDC had confirmed 2,506 EVALI cases, spanning almost every state and territory. Fifty-four deaths have been linked to the illness.

“While we continue to receive reports of newly diagnosed patients with EVALI, the level of new cases is greatly reduced and has been declining since a peak in September,” said Anne Schuchat, CDC principal deputy director.

Early lab tests of suspect vape liquids suggested a compound known as vitamin E acetate, which was found in a substantial volume of suspect THC vaping liquids. But authorities were hesitant to claim vitamin E acetate was the primary culprit, because a broad array of vape liquids had been implicated in the outbreak with no single factor tying all cases together.

About 80% of hospitalized EVALI patients have reported using THC vape products, but the CDC suggests a combination of under-reporting of THC use, and other damaging vape liquid adulterants could explain why the cases don’t neatly fit into the vitamin E hypothesis. Lab tests show that THC vape liquid samples from 2018 did not contain vitamin E acetate, implying the trend to include this additive is relatively recent.

In a related announcement, the FDA and DEA reported the seizure of 44 websites linked to the sale of illicit THC vaping cartridges. The FDA affirms no single product or substance appears to connect all the EVALI-linked product samples it has been testing. While many of the seized websites were targeted based on information from interviews with EVALI patients, no specific product advertised on these sites has been directly linked with vitamin E acetate or the current outbreak so far.

“We need to fully understand the causes of vaping-related lung injuries,” said Stephen Hahn, FDA commissioner. “Moreover, it is a federal crime to advertise the sale of illicit THC vaping cartridges online, and by seizing these websites today, we are able to focus on other online and in-person sources of illegal and potentially dangerous vaping products. As more information comes to light in this complex and evolving investigation, we remain committed to taking further appropriate actions with our federal, state and local partners.”

The FDA and CDC suggest people abstain from using THC-related e-cigarette products, because it is unknown exactly what has been used to create these vaping liquids. While the 2019 vaping outbreak has been found to be unrelated to the inherent act of vaping or to something intrinsic in vaping THC, Schuchat from the CDC suggests there are still a minority of lung injury cases than can’t be linked to vitamin E acetate in THC liquids.