First death from vaping reported in United States

Published August 25, 2019
A patient who had recently been vaping died in the US after developing severe lung disease, officials said on Friday, as authorities scrambled to find the cause behind almost 200 more potential cases. — Photo by Shiza Malik/File
A patient who had recently been vaping died in the US after developing severe lung disease, officials said on Friday, as authorities scrambled to find the cause behind almost 200 more potential cases. — Photo by Shiza Malik/File

WASHINGTON: A patient who had recently been vaping died in the US after developing severe lung disease, officials said on Friday, as authorities scrambled to find the cause behind almost 200 more potential cases.

“Yesterday we received a report of the death of an adult who had been hospitalised with severe unexplained respiratory illness after reported vaping,” Jennifer Layden, the chief medical officer in the Midwestern state of Illinois said.

She declined to provide the person’s gender, but said that the ages of the patients treated in the state had been between 17 and 38.

As of Friday, there were 193 cases across 22 states of potential cases of severe lung disease associated with e-cigarette use since the end of June, according to figures released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The cause has not been determined but all had recently used e-cigarettes to inhale either vaporised nicotine or cannabis, and many of the products have been sent for lab testing.

“The severity of illness people are experiencing is alarming and we must get the word out that using e-cigarettes and vaping can be dangerous,” said Illinois health department director Dr Ngozi Ezike.

But Ileana Arias, acting deputy director on non-infectious diseases at the CDC, added that although the cases appeared similar, “it is unclear if these cases have a common cause, or if they are different diseases with similar presentations”.

No specific product has been identified or blamed for the illness in any of the cases.

E-cigarettes have been available in the US since 2006, and are sometimes used as an aid to quit smoking traditional tobacco products like cigarettes.

Their use among adolescents has skyrocketed in recent years: some 3.6 million middle and high school students used vaping products last year, an increase of 1.5 million on the year before.

E-cigarette users don’t get exposed to the estimated 7,000 chemical constituents present in combustible cigarettes, and vaping is generally believed to be safer than smoking.

The liquids do, however, contain nicotine, which has been studied for decades and is known to be highly addictive, and a variety of other constituents classed as “potentially harmful” according to a 2018 study compiled by the US National Academy of Sciences requested by Congress.

The report identified “substantial evidence” that the vapour contains traces of metals, either from the coil used to heat the liquid, or other parts of the device.

Another potential red flag is the presence of diacetyl, which is used to add a butter flavouring but has been linked to a serious but relatively rare lung disease.

Brian King, deputy director of the CDC’s office on smoking and health, said it was possible, therefore, that such cases were arising before the current investigation and were only being registered now through heightened monitoring.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.