tobacco

Public Health Warning: People should stop vaping immediately

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Second vaping-related death in state confirmed; people who vape are at risk, officials say

The Oregon Health Authority is issuing a public health warning urging people to immediately stop using all vaping products. On September 26, 2019, the agency confirmed a second vaping-related death in the state.

This is the second death among the five previously reported cases. Oregon’s first fatality was announced on Sept. 3. All five cases are part of a national outbreak of severe lung injury linked to vaping and e-cigarette use.

“People should stop vaping immediately,” said Dean Sidelinger, MD, state health officer. “If you vape, whether it’s cannabis, nicotine or other products, please quit. These are addictive substances, and we encourage people to take advantage of free resources to help them quit.”

He added: “If you haven’t started vaping, don’t start.”

OHA officials say the most recent death was an individual who had been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms after vaping cannabis products. Nationally, there have been more than 800 cases, primarily among youths and young adults, in 46 states and one U.S. territory. A total of 12 additional deaths, including Oregon’s first fatality, have been reported in 10 states.

Those who have fallen ill in Oregon have been hospitalized after experiencing worsening symptoms, including shortness of breath, cough or chest pain. CDC and the FDA have not identified a cause, but all cases have reported e-cigarette use or vaping.

OHA investigators and local public health authorities continue to urge clinicians to be on alert for signs of severe respiratory illness among patients and report any cases.

Before the new illness reports, OHA was already concerned about the health risks of vaping products. A recent report by the agency details the health risks for the products including nicotine addiction, exposure to toxic chemicals known to cause cancer and increases in blood pressure.

Individuals who have recently vaped and are having difficulty breathing should seek medical attention immediately.

If you or someone you know smokes or vapes, we urge you to quit now. Free help is available from the following resources:

Switching to cigarettes or other combustible products is not a safer option.

Public Health Warning: Stop using vaping products

Public health officials have now linked a second Oregon death to the use of vaping products. The Oregon Health Authority urges Oregonians to stop using all vaping products until federal and state officials have determined the cause of serious lung injuries and deaths linked to the use of both cannabis and nicotine vaping products. No vaping products should be considered safe. Until health experts can identify why people who have used these products have become seriously ill, and in some cases died, no vaping product should be used. State health officials will continue to work closely with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to determine the cause of deaths and illnesses in Oregon and across the nation

Oregon Health Authority Media contact: Jonathan Modie, 971-246-9139, phd.communications@dhsoha.state.or.us

Oregon Health Authority Report on Tobacco Retailer Inspections

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The Oregon Health Authority recently released a report highlighting a slight decrease in illegal cigarette sales, but illegal sales of little cigars doubled. For Malheur County, what was most striking was how few stores were inspected, giving us an incomplete snapshot of the scale of illegal sales. Only 8 out of 26 retailers in Malheur County were inspected in 2019.

This incomplete snapshot is particularly concerning given the rise of the vaping epidemic among our youth and the recent fatality in Oregon connected with vaping.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division conducts retail inspections in collaboration with Oregon State Police. In 2019, the state inspected 1,100 retailers out of about 3,200 retailers who sell tobacco and e-cigarette products statewide. If a retailer violates the law, a citation is issued to the store’s clerk, manager on duty or owner. The annual inspection report shows which stores passed inspection and which sold illegally to people under age 21.

One of the challenges of our inspection process in the state is that only a few counties in Oregon require a license to sell tobacco – and there’s no state license. This means it is extremely difficult to enforce the minimum legal sales age by holding retailers accountable for illegal sales. A tobacco retail license would make it possible to track who is selling tobacco (and thoroughly inspect each one), educate retailers on how to comply with the law and have meaningful penalties for repeat offenders.

The list of Oregon tobacco retailers that violated the tobacco sales is available on the OHA Public Health Division website here.

For more information about how the tobacco industry markets in Oregon, see the recent Tobacco Retail Assessment Report here.