MADISON (WKOW) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have had a breakthrough in its investigation into vaping-related lung injuries and deaths.
The CDC says recent lab results on the lungs of 29 patients with EVALI (e-cigarette, vaping associated lung injury) showed all had vitamin E acetate in their fluid samples. Vitamin E acetate is an additive in the production of e-cigarette or vaping products and some THC-containing products.
The CDC says, “This is the first time that we have detected a potential chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with these lung injuries.”
The CDC continues to recommend people not use e-cigarettes or vaping products that contain THC.
The agency says in these recent tests, THC was identified in 82% of the samples and nicotine was identified in 62% of the samples.
In its lab tests on the lung patients, the CDC also tested for a range of other chemicals that might be found in e-cigarettes. These include plant oils, petroleum distillates like mineral oil, MCT oil and terpenes, but it did not detect any of these in the fluid samples.
As of Tuesday, 2,051 cases of EVALI have been reported to the CDC in 49 states. Thirty-nine deaths have been confirmed in 24 states and D.C.
More at WKOW 27 News