Concerns are continuing to rise in the context of the ongoing reports of hospitalizations linked to e-cigarette use. In fact, the Oregon Health Authority is carrying out an investigation of the death of an individual that happened in July. According to reports, the death might have been linked to vaping. Some reports are also suggesting that the unregulated THC liquids are the cause for all of this fiasco.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in late August that a total of 215 cases of serious respiratory disease were being investigated. The cases are spread over 25 states and involve teenagers or young adults who are being admitted into a hospital’s emergency ward with similar respiratory symptoms. So far, the only thing that is common in these cases is the use of e-cigarettes.
After an announcement that was made from health officials in Illinois last week that revealed that a patient had died owing to severe respiratory illness, Oregon health officials have suggested that the case of an individual who died in July is actually consistent with the growing number of e-cigarette related reports that are spreading across the country. Not much detail has been issued by the OHA about the individual who has passed away. However, the agency did say that the individual ‘had recently used an e-cigarette or vaping device containing cannabis purchased from a cannabis dispensary.’
Ann Thomas is a public health physician and works with the OHA. Ann made it clear that there is no singular cause that has been linked to these respiratory cases as of now despite the use of a cannabis vaping device by the deceased. Thomas said, ‘We don’t yet know the exact cause of these illnesses – whether they’re caused by contaminants, ingredients in the liquid or something else, such as the device itself.’ However, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently said that 89% of the 27 cases identified in the state could be linked to the vaping of THC products.
According to a joint statement from CDC director Robert Redfield and Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharples, ‘More information is needed to understand better whether there’s a relationship between any specific products or substances and the reported illnesses. At this time, there does not appear to be one product involved in all of the cases, although THC and cannabinoids use has been reported in many cases.’ Jerome Adams is the US Surgeon General who also said the same thing in a tweet while writing, ‘NO single substance or e-cigarette product has been consistently associated with these illness reports.’