Americans have died from lung illnesses related to vaping. President Trump announced he will work on banning most flavored e-cigarettes to bring regulation to all the big tobacco companies.
There is concern about the surge in teen capers over the last couple of years. Keeping teens and adults away from addictive products and regulating them is vital.
Recent reports by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention show a mysterious lung illness lined the use of electronic cigarettes. Vapes, vape pens, hookah pens, wax pens and e-cigs are all terms to describe electronic nicotine devices. These products use an “e-liquid” that contains nicotine.
The CDC published a statement that said vape-related illnesses led to seven deaths and 380 confirmed cases and probable cases of vaping.
U.S Health officials identified one potential cause related to vaping — vitamin E acetate, which is an oil found in some marijuana-based vaping products. The CDC has not confirmed the oil was the cause.
U.S Federal health officials continue to investigate lung illness cases in 36 states. Most cases involve the use of electronic cigarette products such as liquid oils, refill pods, cartridges and devices. Patients reported having used nicotine, cannabinoids or THC, a substance in marijuana combined with other chemicals.
The Illinois state health department, said the illness affected patients from ages 17 to 38. Seriously-ill patients with extensive lung damage require treatment with oxygen and ventilators– some will suffer from permanent lung damage.
A patient in Illinois died first from a lung illness linked to vaping, Illinois public health officials announced. He was hospitalized with a severe respiratory illness after frequent use of vape products. Officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
A Pennsylvania teen,19-year-old Kevin Boclair was hospitalized for weeks due to a vape-related lung illness. On Aug. 3 Boclair’s parents told CBS 3 their son was put in a medically-induced coma for three weeks. They believe his vaping habit forced him on life support.
Those who have been hospitalized because of the illness are primarily teens and young adults. CDC data showed about 3.6 million middle and high school students used these devices. In recent reports from preliminary results from the CDC annual National youth tobacco survey high school students, 27.5% reported using e-cigs in the previous 30 days, up from 20.8% in 2018.
A Congressional investigation found Juul and partially owned Altria big tobacco giant the nation’s leading e-cigarette maker, used social media anti-smoking propaganda to advertise to minors into buying their products. As concerned raised Juul deleted all social media accounts.
The FDA published a warning letter to Juul CEO Kevin Burns, on Sept. 9 stating Juul modified risk tobacco products without an appropriate FDA are adulterated and needs to make these corrections in order to be compliant.
President Donald Trump said he would ban all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes from the market on Sept 11.
“The Trump Administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigs to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools, and communities,” said U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar in a New York Times article.
Michigan became the first state to approve a ban on e-cig flavors, but has not enacted the new law. New York has enacted the new ban. Massachusetts and California are headed towards those measures as well, according to the New York Times.
The FDA will take several weeks to release its final plan for banning these products that have proven to be dangerous for lung health and has evidently led to death. The FDA needs to regulate companies making THC and nicotine related products. The worry about the rise in youth vaping is that it might increase their tobacco use.
