Why are we concerned about e-cigarettes and vaping? In short, the ingredients in e-cigarette liquid have caused users health problems. The health effects of e-cigarettes are still being studied but nicotine addiction, harmful chemical additives, battery explosions causing injury, acute nicotine poisoning and vaping related lung injury have all been linked to use of e-cigarettes and vaping.
If you’re ready to quit, you may be eligible for free products to help you quit. Call today!
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:
Those who want assistance quitting vaping can call 1-800-662-HELP.
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
Sean Bills, a West Valley City, Utah resident, on life support in Jordan Valley Hospital. Bills’ family said he was admitted to the hospital Saturday after vaping gave him lipoid pneumonia. More on his story HERE.
Sixteen states have now reported 153 cases of serious, vaping-related respiratory illnesses in the past two months, and many of the patients are teenagers or young adults.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that all of the cases occurred in people who acknowledged vaping either nicotine or tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, the high-inducing chemical in marijuana.
Federal and state officials say that they are mystified as to what is causing the illnesses, but that it does not appear that an infectious disease is responsible. No one product or device is common among the cases, the agency said. It also was unclear whether a contaminant in a used cartridge or a home-brewed concoction of vaping liquids contributed to some of the ailments.
The patients, most of whom were adolescents or young adults, were admitted to hospitals with difficulty breathing. Many also reported chest pain, vomiting and fatigue.
The most seriously ill patients had serious lung damage that required treatment with oxygen and days on a ventilator. Some are expected to have permanent lung damage. Some severe cases were earlier reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and California.
In an email, the C.D.C. said that while more study was needed, vaping either cannabis or nicotine could be dangerous.
“E-cigarettes are still fairly new, and scientists are still learning about their long-term health effects,” said Brian King, deputy director for research translation in the agency’s smoking and health office. “Adverse respiratory effects associated with e-cigarette use could be the result of a variety of factors, including intended and unintended constituents of these products.”
Mr. King said numerous ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol could harm the lungs, including ultrafine particles that could be inhaled deeply, heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds and cancer-causing agents.
“Oftentimes people are vaping both nicotine and the THC products, so it’s unclear which may be responsible,” said Dr. Michael Lynch, medical director of the poison center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Probably this has been happening occasionally and we haven’t been aware of it, because the association with vaping wasn’t necessarily made. Now people are on the lookout, which is good, because we want to make sure we have an understanding of how prevalent an issue this is.”
Article adapted from The New York Times. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 21, 2019, Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: More Youth Getting Sick From Vaping, C.D.C.
Malheur County Health Department 