A mysterious spate of vape-related deaths

• The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are investigating a spate of lung illnesses tied to vaping, or using e-cigarettes.
• The illnesses have so far claimed 37 lives. There have been 1,888 reported cases of lung diseases in the US since June.
• Business Insider put together a timeline of the spate of vape-related illnesses.
• Read more stories like this on Business Insider’s homepage.

The mysterious spate of vaping-related illnesses and deaths continues to grow. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that 1,888 people in the US have been struck with lung illnesses tied to vaping THC or using e-cigarettes, in 49 states and one territory. The illnesses have claimed 37 lives, and doctors and other health experts fear there could be more on the way. The FDA launched a criminal probe into the matter in September, and warned against using any THC-containing vapes, whether bought in retail shops or from illicit sellers. About two-thirds of the cases were in people between the ages of 18 and 34, and another 14% were in people under 18. Roughly 70% of the cases where full patient information is available have been reported in men. Many of the patients have said they vaped both THC and nicotine, though about a third have said they only used THC vapes. “I’d like to stress that we don’t know what the risky material or substance is. THC may be a marker for a way that cartridges were prepared or way that the devices are producing harm,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, in a call with reporters earlier in October. Schuchat added that the “epidemic curve,” or the number of new illnesses reported is “levelling off or declining.” The CDC also gave the vape-related lung injuries a new moniker: EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping-related lung injury. In September, the Trump administration announced it will push for a ban on all flavoured e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol flavours. The administration has separately recommended that people not use e-cigarettes. While it’s not yet clear what exactly is causing these illnesses, it seems to affect younger people – mostly men – who are vaporizing cannabinoids like THC. The culprit, according to some experts, might be chemicals like vitamin-E acetate that are used to emulsify THC and CBD in illegal, unregulated vaporizers. A recent study of 12 illicit THC vape cartridges found that out of 12 illicit vape cartridges tested, nine contained dangerously high levels of vitamin E acetate. On top of that, all of the illegal vapes contained pesticides, including myclobutanil, which can break down into poisonous hydrogen cyanide when inhaled, Business Insider reported.

Here’s what officials knew when. We’ll update this as more information comes to light:

Sourced from: www.businessinsider.com From start to finish on the vape related deaths