Oregon death is 2nd linked to vaping
First tied to pot shop Firms accused of hooking children on nicotine
PORTLAND, Ore, Sept 5, (AP): Public health officials in Oregon said Wednesday that a person who recently died of a severe respiratory illness had used an electronic cigarette containing marijuana oil from a legal dispensary, the second death linked to vaping nationwide and the first tied to a vaping product bought at a pot shop.
Officials have not determined what sickened the middle-aged adult, whether the product was contaminated or whether they may have added something to the liquid in the device after buying it, said Dr Ann Thomas with the Oregon Health Authority.
Thomas declined to name the brand of the product or the dispensary during the investigation and said it’s the only case of vaping-related illness or death in Oregon that authorities know about.
“Our investigation has not yielded exactly what it is in this product,” Thomas said. “At this point, some of the other states have more data than us.”
As of last week, 215 possible cases of severe lung disease associated with the use of e-cigarettes had been reported by 25 states, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The battery-powered vaping devices can be used to inhale a flavored nicotine solution or a solution infused with marijuana oil.
Contracted
Illinois officials on Friday reported what they consider the first death in the nation linked to vaping after the person contracted a serious lung disease. They didn’t say if the e-cigarette contained marijuana oil or just nicotine.
Health officials in some states have said a number of people who got sick had vaped products containing THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high.
That’s a critical distinction in the Oregon case, according to the American Vaping Association, which has blamed the recent spate of lung illnesses on illegal vape pens that contain THC.
Wisconsin public health officials LANSING, Mich, Sept 5, (AP): Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer moved Wednesday to make her state the first to ban flavored electronic cigarettes, accusing companies of using candy flavors and deceptive advertising to “hook children on nicotine.”
The Democrat ordered the state health department to issue emergency rules that will prohibit the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products, including to adults, and the misleading marketing of ecigarettes. Retailers will have 30 days to comply with the rules once they’re filed in coming weeks. The rules will almost certainly be challenged in court.
New York last November began taking steps to bar the sale of flavored e-cigarettes but withdrew proposed rules to allow more time for legal review. The federal government and states ban the sale of vaping products to minors, yet government survey figures show that last year, one in five US high school students reported vaping in the previous month. Top government health officials, including the surgeon general, have flagged the trend as an epidemic.
said late last month that 89% of the people they interviewed who became sick reported using e-cigarettes or other vaping devices to inhale THC.
In New York state, 32 cases of vaping-related illness have been reported, with a “vast majority” involving people who vape illicit marijuana. None has involved medical marijuana products sold in compliance with state law.
New York officials are focusing their investigation on an additive used in black-market vape oils made from vitamin E. A state health department
“Right now, companies selling vaping products are using candy flavors to hook children on nicotine and misleading claims to promote the belief that these products are safe. That ends today,” Whitmer said in a written statement, noting that Michigan’s chief medical executive determined that youth vaping constitutes a public health emergency.
As of last week, 215 possible cases of severe pulmonary disease associated with the use of e-cigarettes had been reported by 25 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Michigan officials are investigating six such cases. At least two deaths in the US have been linked to vaping, one announced in Illinois last month and another in Oregon announced this week. The Oregon death is the first linked by health officials to a product purchased at a marijuana dispensary.
Whitmer’s move drew praise from public health advocates, school groups and Democratic lawmakers, but criticism from organizations that advocate for vaping and some Republicans in the GOP-led Legislature.
spokeswoman said a lab has found “high levels” of vitamin E acetate in “nearly all” the marijuana samples involved.
Officials cautioned, however, that there have been respiratory illnesses diagnosed where the vaping product did not contain marijuana.
“It’s kind of scary and it’s hard to believe that any vaping is really safe at this point,” said Thomas, the Oregon doctor.
In Oregon, where marijuana is broadly legal for adults 21 and older, dispensaries can’t sell products that have not been tested by state-accredited labs.
Mark Pettinger, spokesman for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which oversees Oregon’s legal marijuana industry, said the investigation was in its early stages, but if it turns out the THC oil was implicated, his agency can track the product back to its origin and review all the testing results.
In general, all marijuana intended for sale at a legal dispensary is tested for pesticides and potency, as well as for solvents, if the product is not dried marijuana flower.