Dylan Stoll | Health Editor
Featured Image: Those afflicted with “vape lung” tested positive for vitamin E acetate. | Courtesy of Pixabay
Vitamin E acetate has recently been discovered as the possible culprit behind the worrying rise in vaping-related illnesses and deaths. The discovery was made after all 29 vaping sufferer’s bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples (BAL) analyses came back positive for vitamin E acetate.
However, other residual remains, such as THC (the psychoactive compound in marijuana) and nicotine, were only found in 82 and 62 per cent of the patients, respectively. This commonality among all the patients suffering from e-cigarette/vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), otherwise known as “vape lung,” indicates that vitamin E acetate is most likely the issue.
The analyses were completed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), who also extensively searched for other possible compounds in the BAL samples, such as plant oils, petroleum distillates, MCT oil, and terpenes. In all cases, no traces were discovered.
It should be noted, however, that these are preliminary findings and as such are yet to be conclusive.
“While it appears that vitamin E acetate is associated with EVALI, evidence is not yet sufficient to rule out contributions of other chemicals of concern to EVALI,” stated the CDC on their official website.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found THC to be more prevalent in the samples that they have obtained (though each sample, rather than being a BAL, is the vaping device itself). As of November 8, of the 850 device samples garnered, 419 had traces of THC. Interestingly, 50 per cent of the samples containing THC also contained vitamin E acetate.
Also, 300 device samples were linked directly to 54 CDC patient case files, with 80 per cent of them associated with THC products. Of those, 74 per cent included vitamin E acetate as a diluent.
In regards to these findings, the FDA stated on their website: “It is important to stress that identifying any compounds present in the samples linked to patient cases is but one piece of the puzzle and will not necessarily answer questions about causality, which makes ongoing work critical at both the state and federal levels.”
As of November 5, 2051 EVALI cases have been reported from 49 states in the U.S. and 39 deaths have been confirmed in 24 states, as well as in the District of Columbia.
If you are a user of e-cigarettes/vape-pen products, the CDC recommends that you avoid using any of those that are modified, contain THC, or contain substances not intended for use by the manufacturer.
However, if you want to ensure that you are not at risk, it is highly advised that you refrain from using any e-cigarettes/vape-pen products altogether.
