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The astronomical increase in children physically dependent on the high levels of nicotine present in electronic cigarettes has prompted addiction experts to fear that existing treatments are not enough.
Doctors explain that the way electronic cigarettes deliver nicotine to the body and brain makes them more dependent than traditional cigarettes.
"By vaping, nicotine being extremely concentrated, you can introduce it faster into your body and at much higher doses than with a conventional cigarette," said Dr. Sharon Levy, program director on substance abuse and addiction among adolescents. at the Boston Children's Hospital.
Levy told NBC News that experts are using drugs to fight against nicotine cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms. But effective counseling is also crucial for children who rape.
"We are seeing kids coming into the clinic with their lives deteriorating around them," said Levy.
Many of his young patients have trouble concentrating at school. Many are also particularly irritable and have trouble keeping their cool.
"Dealing with vaping problems is difficult," said Levy. "There is no research to know how to do it." Her teenage drug treatment program now has three to four times the volume of calls a year ago.
Children may also have difficulty avoiding high-risk situations now that they are back in school.
"A child talked about a Juul show at school," Levy said. "We called that a bathroom."
Wednesday, the Trump administration announced plans to ban flavored electronic cigarettes, which according to studies are highly favored by young people.
This decision comes as more and more cases of serious pulmonary diseases related to vapor atrophy have been reported.
More than 500 cases have now been confirmed or are being investigated across the country, while state and federal health investigators continue to research exactly what is responsible for vaping devices.
A total of 42 state health departments told NBC News that they were investigating 519 cases. Most are otherwise healthy people, from teenagers to 70-year-olds, who suddenly develop serious breathing problems, coughs, fever and chest pains.
Some experts suspect that the total number of cases may be underestimated because it does not take into account people who feel sick after a vaping, but not enough to see a doctor.
"I think for each of these cases, there are probably dozens of minor cases," said Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. His condition was caused by the death of a pulmonary disease related to vaping.
Five other people died of the disease in California, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Oregon.
The Food and Drug Administration tests the spraying products provided by patients to look for any common links to the diseases. According to the FDA, some patients reported inhaling nicotine only, while many others said they sprayed nicotine and THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gives people a high level.
It is these THC vapors and their interchangeable oil-based cartridges that have been heavily involved in investigations up to now, although no ingredients have been designated as the culprit.
While investigators work, hundreds of families across the country are living with life-threatening lung disease.
Kris Trimble of Blue Springs, Missouri, knew that her son, Dylon, 21, had started Juuling when he joined the army a few years ago, referring to the most popular electronic cigarette brand on the market.
Juices are available in a number of flavors and contain high levels of nicotine, but not THC.
Trimble told NBC News that when his son returned home this year, he started using other types of vaping devices, including those that contained THC and were purchased in Colorado, where marijuana for recreational purposes is legal.
It's very scary to see your only child suffocating.
Last month, Trimble stated that Dylon had begun to have difficulty breathing and that his health had quickly deteriorated.
"It's very scary to see your only child suffocating basically," said Trimble.
Dylon is now recovering from home after nine days in the hospital.
Trimble said the experience was frustrating for both a mother and a seasoned nurse.
"I have been working in the ER for almost 18 years and I am traumatized, and I have never seen anything so terrifying," she said.
Like the nicotine addictions in children who get pregnant, the new wave of vaping-related illnesses, which is constantly evolving, has neither a manual nor a standard treatment history.
"It's so new that none of this is at stake, which is scary," said Trimble.
And, as cold and flu season approaches, experts warn that symptoms associated with steam infection are similar to common viruses that begin to circulate at this time of year. ;year.
"I would not want someone coming with the flu and not getting the proper treatment," Norman said.
Doctors also fear that patients whose lungs have been damaged by spraying are more susceptible to viruses.
This is a concern shared by Kris Trimble about Dylon.
"Her lungs are very compromised," she said. "It's not possible for him to fight for the moment."
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