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E-cigarettes have been marketed as tools to help smokers quit,
but rising use among youth in the United States and a spate of
severe lung illnesses tied to the devices have triggered a
backlash and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has in the
past advised consumers to avoid the devices, but the latest
recommendation focused on THC products follows nationwide data
that pointed to a large number of cases related to the use of
the high-inducing component of marijuana.
The CDC and state health officials, along with other health
agencies, are investigating 805 confirmed and probable cases and
12 deaths so far from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to
vaping, as of the latest update on Thursday.
According to the research published by CDC on Friday, 514 of the
805 patients knew about substances used in their vaping
products, with nearly 77% using THC-containing vapes.
However, this does not narrow the focus of the investigation as
some users have also reported using e-cigarettes with just
nicotine, CDC's principal deputy director Anne Schuchat told
reporters on Friday.
The data showed that 56.8% used nicotine in their vapes, while
16% used vapes containing just nicotine in the 30 days preceding
their symptoms.
"We do not know yet what exactly is making people sick, for
example, whether particular solvents or adulterants are leading
to lung injury, or whether cases stem from a single supplier or
multiple ones," Schuchat said.
Separate data from Wisconsin and Illinois showed that although
no single brand name was reported by all patients, two-thirds of
consumers reported using a prefilled THC cartridge under the
brand name "Dank Vapes".
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier
this month found that more than half of lung illness patients
extensively interviewed in Wisconsin and Illinois reported
having used the "Dank Vapes" brand.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Saumya Joseph in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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