U.S. health investigators are casting a wide net to understand what is sickening hundreds of vapers across the country and still have not ruled out any product on the market, even as vaping industry officials highlight the potential role of illegal cannabis products.
Dr Dana Meaney-Delman is leading the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s investigation into the culprit behind at least five confirmed deaths and 450 reported cases of lung illness linked with use of the devices.
The agency is recommending that people refrain from the use of any electronic cigarette or vaping device until there is more conclusive evidence of a cause, she said in an interview.
DOCTORS WEIGH IN
The CDC’s view has been reinforced by the American Medical Association, which on Monday urged consumers to stop using any sort of electronic cigarette until the investigation yields clear findings. The AMA called on doctors to inform patients about the potential dangers of the devices, including toxins and carcinogens.
An FDA spokesman said on Tuesday the agency has not changed its recommendation to consumers. The FDA has faced mounting pressure to curb a surge in teenage use of e-cigarette products. Last year the number of high school students using e-cigarettes shot up by 78 percent, a trend that coincided with the rising popularity of Juul e-cigarettes. Juul is 35 percent-owned by Altria Group (MO.N).
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Monday called for government regulation of cannabis products in an interview on CNBC, noting the possible THC link to the illnesses.
Meaney-Delman said state health officials are now going back to interview all patients about the products they used.
The CDC is also trying to match what its scientists are finding in tissue and fluid samples taken from patients’ lungs with substances the FDA is identifying in the products used by sick patients. Meaney-Delman said some of the samples are nicotine products and some are THC products from a variety of places.
In the meantime, the agency is instructing doctors to start asking patients about their vaping history and urging patients who vape to monitor themselves and seek medical attention for symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and vomiting.
Meaney-Delman said the publication of chest X-rays and CT scans from affected patients in the New England Journal of Medicine should help doctors identify additional cases.
“That’s helpful so physicians can look at the imaging, which has been really important to these diagnoses, and compare patients they have in front of them,” she said.
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