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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated and revised the national count of diseases related to the use of electronic cigarettes, namely vaping, from 450 possible case at 380 confirmed and probable case, announced the agency Thursday night.
The new figure follows a clearer clinical definition of the disease as well as further investigation of individual cases. The 380 confirmed and probable cases now cover 36 states and still include six deaths, as previously reported. The CDC added that the current number of cases "is expected to increase as additional cases are classified".
While health investigators purify the air around the clinical appearance of cases, the cause is still foggy. Although all cases are associated with vaping, investigators have had difficulty identifying specific vape products or ingredients linking all cases and all symptoms.
Until now, investigations have focused on contaminants found in counterfeit, vape-type liquids sold on the black market and mixed at home, especially those containing THC. Many patients reported using THC-containing fluids (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) before becoming sick. But the culprit (s) is still under investigation.
Other problems
Meanwhile, the issue of e-cigarette regulation has become blurred this week as well. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban flavored electronic cigarette products. At the announcement, he spoke about the current epidemic of vaping-related diseases in these terms:
"We have a problem in our country. This is a new problem. This is a problem that no one really thought about a few years ago, and it's called "vaping" … There were deaths and many other problems.
Nicotine-based flavored spray products have not generally been suspected of being involved in vaping-related illnesses and deaths, especially those manufactured by leading manufacturers, such as Juul and Blu.
Such a ban should not have an impact on the current epidemic, but it could help tackle another public health problem: teenage vape. The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC have long blamed flavored products for the strong adoption of electronic cigarettes in children and adolescents. The products include fruit, candy, alcohol and dessert flavors, which would be directly aimed at young people, echoing the tactics used by tobacco companies to attract and retain customers.
The use of e-cigarettes among middle and high school students has increased from 2.1 million in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018, according to the CDC. As such, the CDC and the FDA have described the vaping of young people as an "epidemic".
Dark episode
Groups and advocates of the vaping industry, however, say that it is dangerous to demonize vaping in general and to associate the epidemic of vaping-related disease with the problem of the consumption of vaping. electronic cigarettes by teens.
"You terrify people who enjoy vaping by not smoking," Clive Bates, a former head of the British charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), told Politico.
ASH and UK government health agencies have adopted e-cigarettes as a way of weaning people from traditional cigarettes. As such, Bates and others believe that US authorities should have more nuanced messages about the dangers of vaping, especially those of unregulated products related to diseases and deaths. Bates added that the current position of the US agencies is creating one of the "darkest episodes of American public health … they have lost all their moorings of evidence and good practice," a- he declared.
(Although the UK absorbs a lot of e-cigarettes, the country has not experienced a similar eruption of vaping-related illnesses.)
However, even if vape advocates oppose the ban on flavored products, it is unclear when and if it will come into effect. The FDA has yet to finalize the regulation and experts expect the electronic cigarette manufacturers to challenge the legality of the ban in court.
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