Worry in the United States over the deaths of five people who used electronic cigarettes

US authorities have reported that death of five people, three of them Friday, as a result of Electronic cigarettes, a practice for which bans are imposed for their risks.

The last three reported deaths were recorded in Indiana, Los Angeles (California) and Minnesota, the other two deaths in Oregon and Illinois.

In a statement, Indiana Health Commissioner Kristine Box said that "the tragic loss of a patient and the growing number of vaping injuries are warnings we can not ignore".

"We know, he added, that these products usually contain nicotine, which is highly addictive.".

This news coincides with the publication of an article in the magazine New England Journal of Medicine in which a group of researchers from the University of Utah Health identified a characteristic until then unknown of a respiratory disease related to vaporization.

Governor of Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, this week banned the sale of electronic cigarettes the first to sell these products.

Electronic cigarettes and diseases

According to scientists from Utah, patients who suffer from a type of respiratory disease that have appeared in many parts of the country in recent months and are electronic cigarette users they have immune cells in their lungs with small oily drops called fat-laden macrophages.

Macrophages accumulate on infection sites and "these are cells that stand out very well and that we do not see often," said Scott Aberegg, lead author of the study. "And that led us to ask if they are there to eliminate the waste introduced into the lungs by vaping."

"Although it's too early to be sure, these macrophages can be helpful in confirming or reversing this disease," he added. "They can help us understand what causes this disease."

Pulmonary scans from patients with vape disease show what severe viral or bacterial pneumonia looks like, but tests to confirm these diseases give negative results.

The diagnoses were based on the exclusion of other known causes of similar respiratory conditions, but taking into account the information that the patient has a history of smoke consumption by a vaporizer .

The American Vaporizer Association, which promotes electronic cigarettes to help smokers quit traditional cigarettes, denounced Whitmer's decision and said it would support any lawsuit aimed at canceling it.

These sprays are sold without limit of age and they are offered with flavors like fruit juices, sweets and chewing gums.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nicotine, in both conventional and electronic cigarettes, is addictive.

"E-cigarettes are considered tobacco products because they contain mainly nicotine, which comes from tobacco," according to the CDC.

Other ingredients contained in the liquid of these cigarettes include ultrafine particles that can reach the lungs, flavoring compounds such as diacetyl, a chemical substance related to serious lung diseases, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and iron. lead.